彼 bǐ — that, those · English

彼

bǐ

that, those

At a glance · 彼

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

彼字小篆从彳皮声，为形声字；本义为那、对方。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

彼本义为那、那个，与『此』相对。

Structure

形声字，左部『彳』为意符，右部『皮』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinbǐ

Radical彳

Strokes8

UnicodeU+5F7C

Character type形声

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English that, those Bi is a phonetic-semantic character meaning that and those.

Français ce, cela Bi est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant ce et cela.

Español ese, aquel Bi es un carácter fonosemántico que significa ese y aquel.

العربية ذلك، أولئك بي حرف صوتي دلالي يعني ذلك وأولئك.

Русский тот, та Би — фоносемантический знак, означающий тот и те.

Common words

彼此bǐ cǐeach other
彼岸bǐ ànthe other shore

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