咋

See also: 昨

咋 U+548B, 咋 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-548B ← 咊 [U+548A] CJK Unified Ideographs 和 → [U+548C]

Translingual

Han character

咋 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 口人尸 (ROS) or 口竹尸 (RHS), four-corner 6801₁, composition ⿰口乍)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 184, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3488
• Dae Jaweon: page 404, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 601, character 9
• Unihan data for U+548B

Chinese

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (乍) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
作	*ʔsaːɡs, *ʔsaːɡs, *ʔsaːɡ
鲊	*ʔsraːʔ
痄	*ʔsraːʔ
厏	*ʔsraːʔ, *zraːʔ
詐	*ʔsraːɡs
咋	*ʔsraːɡs, *zraːɡ, *ʔsreːɡ
笮	*ʔsraːɡs, *zaːɡ, *ʔsraːɡ
榨	*ʔsraːɡs
炸	*ʔr'aːɡs, *zreːb
乍	*zraːɡs
拃	*ʔsraːnʔ
酢	*sʰaːɡs, *zaːɡ
祚	*zaːɡs
胙	*zaːɡs
阼	*zaːɡs
飵	*zaːɡs, *zaːɡ
秨	*zaːɡs, *zaːɡ
迮	*ʔsaːɡ, *ʔsraːɡ
柞	*ʔsaːɡ, *zaːɡ
昨	*zaːɡ
怍	*zaːɡ
砟	*zaːɡ
莋	*zaːɡ
岝	*zaːɡ, *zraːɡ
鈼	*zaːɡ
筰	*zaːɡ
葃	*zaːɡ, *zreːɡ, *zaɡ
舴	*ʔr'aːɡ, *ʔsraːɡ
窄	*ʔsraːɡ
蚱	*ʔsraːɡ
齚	*zraːɡ
泎	*zraːɡ

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		咋
alternative forms		𠷿 咱 囃

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Fusion of 怎麼／怎么 (zěnme)?”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): zǎ (za³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄗㄚˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): za²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): за (za, II)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄗㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zǎ
    • Wade–Giles: tsa³
    • Yale: dzǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzaa
    • Palladius: цза (cza)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sä²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: za²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: za
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: за (za, II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa²
    • Yale: já
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa²
    • Guangdong Romanization: za²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː³⁵/

Definitions

咋

1. (colloquial, dialectal) how; why

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 怎麼 (“how”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何, 如何
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		怎麼
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	怎麼
	Taiwan	怎麼
	Singapore	怎麼
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	怎麼
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	咋, 咋樣兒
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	咋, 咋的個, 咋麼, 咋麼個
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	咋, 咋個, 啷個
	Chongqing	啷個
	Wuhan	麼, 麼樣, 哪樣
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	井幹
	Hefei	怎樣, 怎
Cantonese	Guangzhou	點, 點樣
	Hong Kong	點, 點樣
	Taishan	幾何
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	點
	Singapore (Guangfu)	點
Gan	Nanchang	啷, 啷樣
Hakka	Meixian	仰般, 仰仔
	Wuhua (Meilin)	仰般
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	仰來
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	仰般, 仰仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	仰仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	仰般
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	仰脣, 仰
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	仰般, 仰般形
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	仰子
Huizhou	Jixi	采翹
Jin	Taiyuan	咋, 咋底
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	怎怎, 怎, 怎其
	Fuqing	安難, 怎生
	Singapore (Fuqing)	安難
Southern Min	Xiamen	按怎, 怎影
	Taipei	按怎
	Penang (Hokkien)	按怎
	Singapore (Hokkien)	按怎
	Manila (Hokkien)	障仔, 按怎, 怎
	Chaozhou	在生, 乜生, 做呢, 做物
	Raoping	做呢
	Shantou	做呢
	Jieyang	做呢
	Haifeng	做呢
	Singapore (Teochew)	做呢, 做物
	Batam (Teochew)	做呢物, 做物
	Wenchang	怎作, 作乜
	Haikou	咋作
	Singapore (Hainanese)	怎作
Wu	Shanghai	哪能
	Suzhou	捺亨
	Ningbo	咋, 咋貌, 咋貌介
	Wenzhou	訾那, 訾那能
Xiang	Changsha	何什, 何裡
	Shuangfeng	麼家

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		咋
alternative forms		唶

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zé (ze²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄗㄜˊ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zé
    • Zhuyin: ㄗㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zé
    • Wade–Giles: tsê²
    • Yale: dzé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzer
    • Palladius: цзэ (czɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɤ³⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsreak

Rime
Character	咋
Reading #	3/3
Initial (聲)	莊 (18)
Final (韻)	麥 (119)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	側革切
Baxter	tsreak
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ʃˠɛk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈ͡ʂᵚæk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ʃɐk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈ͡ʂəɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/t͡ʃɛk̚/
Wang Li	/t͡ʃæk̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʈ͡ʂæk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhe
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zak1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsreːɡ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咋
Reading #	3/3
No.	16687
Phonetic component	乍
Rime group	錫
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	責
Old Chinese	/*ʔsreːɡ/
Notes	見周禮鄭注

Definitions

咋

1. (obsolete) to be loud; to shout; to cry

   • 蓋越人美蠃蚌而簡太牢，鄙夫樂咋唶而怪《韶》《濩》。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     盖越人美蠃蚌而简太牢，鄙夫乐咋唶而怪《韶》《濩》。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: p. 73 BCE, Huan Kuan (桓寬) (editor). Discourses on Salt and Iron (《鹽鐵論》)

     Gài Yuèrén měi luóbàng ér jiǎn tàiláo, bǐfū lè zéjiè ér guài “Sháo” “Huò”. [Pinyin]

     (One is reminded that) the Yue, being fond of snails and clams, deem the prime beef from sacrificial cattle inferior, and that the uncultivated barbarians, loving to howl and sigh loudly, take a dim view of the elegance in the Shao and Huo.

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		咋

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zé (ze²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄗㄜˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaak⁶ / zaak³ / zaa³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zé
    • Zhuyin: ㄗㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zé
    • Wade–Giles: tsê²
    • Yale: dzé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzer
    • Palladius: цзэ (czɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɤ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaak⁶ / zaak³ / zaa³
    • Yale: jaahk / jaak / ja
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaak⁹ / dzaak⁸ / dzaa³
    • Guangdong Romanization: zag⁶ / zag³ / za³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saːk̚²/, /t͡saːk̚³/, /t͡saː³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: dzraek

Rime
Character	咋
Reading #	2/3
Initial (聲)	崇 (20)
Final (韻)	陌 (113)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	鋤陌切
Baxter	dzraek
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʒˠæk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɖ͡ʐᵚak̚/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʒak̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɖ͡ʐaɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/d͡ʒɐk̚/
Wang Li	/d͡ʒɐk̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɖ͡ʐʱɐk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhé
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zak6

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*zraːɡ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咋
Reading #	2/3
No.	16684
Phonetic component	乍
Rime group	鐸
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	齚
Old Chinese	/*zraːɡ/

Definitions

咋

1. (obsolete) to bite

   • 猶是觀之，譬由鼱鼩之襲狗，孤豚之咋虎，至則靡耳，何功之有？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     犹是观之，譬由鼱鼩之袭狗，孤豚之咋虎，至则靡耳，何功之有？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 2nd century BCE, Dongfang Shuo (東方朔), Replies to a Guest's Objections (《答客難》). English text based on the free-verse translation by Dominik Declercq.

     Yóu shì guān zhī, pì yóu jīngqú zhī xí gǒu, gūtún zhī zé hǔ, zhì zé mí ěr, hé gōng zhī yǒu? [Pinyin]

     Looking at it from this point of view, I should compare you to
     A shrew attacking a dog,
     A lone piglet snapping at a tiger,
     Striking, only to be crushed themselves:
     What merit is to be gained from that?

   咋舌  ―  zéshé  ―  to be speechless

2. used in 㕭咋

Compounds

• 㕭咋
• 咋舌 (zéshé)

Etymology 4

simp. and trad.		咋

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhà (zha⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄚˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhà
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhà
    • Wade–Giles: cha⁴
    • Yale: jà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jah
    • Palladius: чжа (čža)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂä⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa³
    • Yale: ja
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa³
    • Guangdong Romanization: za³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsraeH

Rime
Character	咋
Reading #	1/3
Initial (聲)	莊 (18)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	側駕切
Baxter	tsraeH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ʃˠaH/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈ͡ʂᵚaH/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ʃaH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈ͡ʂaɨH/
Li Rong	/t͡ʃaH/
Wang Li	/t͡ʃaH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʈ͡ʂaH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhà
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zaa3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsraːɡs/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咋
Reading #	1/3
No.	16646
Phonetic component	乍
Rime group	暮
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	詐
Old Chinese	/*ʔsraːɡs/

Definitions

咋

1. (obsolete) alternative form of 炸 (“to burst; to explode; to infuriate”)

Etymology 5

simp. and trad.		咋

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhà (zha⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄚˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa⁶ / zaa³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhà
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhà
    • Wade–Giles: cha⁴
    • Yale: jà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jah
    • Palladius: чжа (čža)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂä⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa⁶ / zaa³
    • Yale: jah / ja
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa⁶ / dzaa³
    • Guangdong Romanization: za⁶ / za³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː²²/, /t͡saː³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsraeH

Rime
Character	咋
Reading #	1/3
Initial (聲)	莊 (18)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	側駕切
Baxter	tsraeH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ʃˠaH/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈ͡ʂᵚaH/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ʃaH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈ͡ʂaɨH/
Li Rong	/t͡ʃaH/
Wang Li	/t͡ʃaH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʈ͡ʂaH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhà
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zaa3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsraːɡs/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咋
Reading #	1/3
No.	16646
Phonetic component	乍
Rime group	暮
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	詐
Old Chinese	/*ʔsraːɡs/

Definitions

咋

1. (obsolete) alternative form of 乍 (zhà, “suddenly; in an outburst”)

   • 桓子咋謂林楚曰：「而先皆季氏之良也，爾以是繼之？」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     桓子咋谓林楚曰：「而先皆季氏之良也，尔以是继之？」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Huánzǐ zhà wèi Lín Chǔ yuē: “Ér xiān jiē Jìshì zhī liáng yě, ěr yǐ shì jì zhī?” [Pinyin]

     Lord Huan (of Ji), in a sudden, burst out to Lin Chu: "Your forebears have always served the Ji loyally. Is this how you carry on their tradition?"

Etymology 6

simp. and trad.		咋
alternative forms		囃

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): zhā (zha¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄚ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): za¹

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa¹ / zaa³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhā
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jha
    • Wade–Giles: cha¹
    • Yale: jā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ja
    • Palladius: чжа (čža)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂä⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: za¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: za
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa¹ / zaa³
    • Yale: jā / ja
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa¹ / dzaa³
    • Guangdong Romanization: za¹ / za³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː⁵⁵/, /t͡saː³³/

Definitions

咋

1. only used in 咋呼 (zhāhu)

Etymology 7

simp. and trad.		咋

From z- (“only; just; simply”) + 呀 (aa³). Compare 啫 (ze¹), 咋 (zaa⁴), 之嘛 (zi¹ maa³).

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa³

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa³
    • Yale: ja
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa³
    • Guangdong Romanization: za³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː³³/

Definitions

咋

1. (Cantonese, at the end of a phrase) only; just; simply

   仲有三個咋。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   仲有三个咋。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   zung⁶ jau⁵ saam¹ go³ zaa³. [Jyutping]

   There are only three left.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 而已 (“(sentence-final particle) just; simply”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		而已, 云爾
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		而已, 罷了
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	罷了
	Taiwan	而已
	Malaysia	罷了
	Singapore	而已
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	罷了
Cantonese	Guangzhou	啫, 咋, 之嘛
	Hong Kong	啫, 咋, 之嘛
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	啫, 之嘛
	Taishan	之嘛, 咋
	Kaiping (Chikan)	之嘛, 逸, 咿
	Enping (Niujiang)	之嘛, 咋
	Singapore (Guangfu)	啫, 之嘛
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	定定
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	定定
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	定定, 定
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	忒等
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	定定
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	定
Southern Min	Xiamen	爾爾, 爾
	Quanzhou	爾爾, 爾
	Zhangzhou	爾爾, 爾
	Tainan	爾爾
	Penang (Hokkien)	爾
	Singapore (Hokkien)	爾, 爾爾
	Jieyang	定

Etymology 8

simp. and trad.		咋

From z- (“only; just; simply”) + confirmation-seeking 呀 (aa⁴). Compare 喇 (laa⁴), 㗎 (gaa⁴).

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaa⁴

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaa⁴
    • Yale: jàh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaa⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: za⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saː²¹/

Definitions

咋

1. Sentence-final particle used to seek confirmation, expressing surprise and suspicion on a delimitation: only so few/little?

   仲有三個咋？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   仲有三个咋？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   zung⁶ jau⁵ saam¹ go³ zaa⁴? [Jyutping]

   Are there only three left?

Compounds

• 咋唶
• 嘵咋 / 哓咋

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00560
• “咋”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

咋

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• Go-on: しゃ (sha)、しゃく (shaku)
• Kan-on: さ (sa)、さく (saku)
• Kun: かむ (kamu, 咋む)、くう (kuu, 咋う)^{←くふ (kufu, 咋ふ, historical)}、くらう (kurau, 咋らう)^{←くらふ (kurafu, 咋らふ, historical)}

Compounds

• 大(おお)山(やま)咋(くいの)神(かみ) (Ōyamakui no Kami)
• 羽(は)咋(くい) (Hakui)
• 真魚(まな)咋(ぐい) (managui)

Korean

Hanja

咋 • (sa) (hangeul 사)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

咋: Hán Nôm readings: chạ, chá, chách, cha

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation