chi

See also: Appendix:Variations of "chi"

Languages (25)

Translingual • English

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Atsahuaca • Cornish • Dutch • Esperanto • Garo • Guerrero Amuzgo • Italian • Japanese • K'iche' • Kokborok • Ladin • Lombard • Mandarin • Norman • Polish • Portuguese • Sardinian • Sassarese • Spanish • Vietnamese • Welsh • Yola • Zou

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Chinese.

Symbol

chi

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2/B language code for Chinese.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Chinese terms

English

Ancient Greek alphabet

← phi		→ psi
Χ χ Ancient Greek: χεῖ
Wikipedia article on chi

English Wikipedia has an article on:

chi (letter)

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

From Latin chī, from Ancient Greek χεῖ (kheî).

Alternative forms

• khi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Noun

chi (plural chis)

2. The twenty-second letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets.

Derived terms

• chi-by-eye
• chi-rho
• chi-square distribution
• chi-square test

Derived terms

• chi distribution
• chi-square

Translations

Greek letter

Arabic: خِي m (ḵī) Asturian: khi (ast) Catalan: khi (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 西 (zh) (xī), 喜 (zh) (xǐ), 凱 / 凯 (zh) (kǎi) Czech: chí Dutch: chi (nl) m or f Esperanto: ĥio (eo) Finnish: khii (fi) French: chi (fr) m, khi (fr) German: Chi (de) n Greek: χι (el) n (chi) Ancient: χεῖ n (kheî) Hebrew: כִי (he) f (chi) Hungarian: khi (hu) Interlingua: chi Irish: chí f Japanese: キー (ja) (kī), カイ (ja) (kai), ヒ (ja) (hi) Korean: 키 (ko) (ki) Macedonian: хи (hi) Malay: khi Persian: خی (fa) (xi) Polish: chi (pl) n Portuguese: qui (pt) m Russian: хи (ru) n (xi) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: хи Latin: hi (sh) Slovak: chí n Spanish: ji (es) f Thai: ไค (th) (kai) Ukrainian: хі n (xi)

See also

• (Greek-script letter names) alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega

Etymology 2

English Wikipedia has an article on:

chi (force)

Wikipedia

From the Mandarin 氣／气 (qì) from the Wade–Giles romanization: chʻi⁴, from Middle Chinese 氣 (MC khj+jH), from Old Chinese 氣 (OC *kʰɯds, “breath, vapor”). Compare modern Japanese 気(き) (ki), Korean 기(氣) (gi) and Vietnamese khí (氣).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃiː/
• enPR: chē

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

chi (usually uncountable, plural chis)

2. (philosophy, mysticism) A life force in traditional Chinese philosophy, culture, medicine, etc, related (but not limited) to breath and circulation.
   • [1987, “ch'i”, in Encyclopedia Britannica‎, 15th edition, volume 3, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 186, column 3:

     Early Taoist philosophers and alchemists regarded ch'i as a vital force inhering in the breath and bodily fluids and developed techniques to alter and control the movement of ch'i within the body; their aim was to achieve physical longevity and spiritual power.]

   • 2001, Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, Viking Press, page 196:

     He took several deep breaths, finding his chi as Butler had taught him.

   • 2013 April 2, David Tanis, “Hurry Up, Spring”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 April 2013, Dining & Wine‎:

     At the greenmarket, it’s still mostly potatoes and apples. There are no tender greens, fava beans, peas, asparagus, artichokes, sorrel, rhubarb or early strawberries.
     Those harbingers of the season are said to be full of chi, or qi, the Chinese word for life force. We’re craving them as we’re craving lighter, brighter-tasting meals, food that is greener and fresher.

   • 2017 January 8, Leslie Hsu Oh, “I tried the Chinese practice of ‘sitting the month’ after childbirth”, in The Washington Post‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 January 2017, Health & Science‎:

     According to traditional Chinese medicine, blood carries chi, your “life force,” which fuels all the functions of the body. When you lose blood, you lose chi, and this causes your body to go into a state of yin (cold). When yin (cold) and yang (hot) are out of balance, your body will suffer physical disorders.

Alternative forms

• ch'i, ki
• qi (Hanyu Pinyin)

Related terms

• chi kung

Translations

the fundamental life-force or energy

Arabic: تْشِي m (tšī), كِي (ar) m (kī) Chinese: Cantonese: 氣 / 气 (hei3) Dungan: чи (či) Eastern Min: 氣 / 气 (ké) Hakka: 氣 / 气 (hi) Hokkien: 氣 / 气 (zh-min-nan) (khì, khùi) Mandarin: 氣 / 气 (zh) (qì) Wu: 氣i / 气i Esperanto: ĉjio Finnish: ki (fi) French: qi (fr) m German: Qi (de) n, Ch'i n, Ki (de) n Hebrew: צ׳י (chi) Hungarian: csi Indonesian: qi (id) Japanese: 気 (ja) (き, ki) Korean: 기(氣) (ko) (gi) Macedonian: чи n (či) Persian: چی (fa) (či) Polish: chi (pl) n Portuguese: qi (pt) m, chi (pt) m Russian: ци (ru) n (ci), чи (ru) n (či), ки (ru) n (ki) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: чи n Roman: či n Swedish: qi (sv) Turkish: çi (tr), ki (tr) Vietnamese: khí (vi) (氣 (vi))

See also

• ether
• huna
• life force
• orgone
• prana
• qigong

Etymology 3

English Wikipedia has an article on:

chi (unit)

Wikipedia

From the pinyin romanization of Mandarin 尺 (chǐ). Doublet of chek.

Alternative forms

• chih, ch'ih

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃə/
• enPR: chœ

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

chi (usually uncountable, plural chis)

1. The Chinese foot, a traditional Chinese unit of length based on the human forearm.
2. (Mainland China) The Chinese unit of length standardized in 1984 as ¹/₃ of a meter.
3. (Taiwan) The Taiwanese unit of length standardized as ¹⁰/₃₃ of a meter, identical to the Japanese shaku.
4. (Hong Kong) The chek or Hong Kong foot, a unit of length standardized as 0.371475 meters.

Synonyms

• (traditional, mainland): Chinese foot
• (Taiwan): Taiwanese foot
• (Hong Kong): Hong Kong foot, chek

Related terms

• shaku, the equivalent Japanese unit

Etymology 4

Noun

chi (plural chis)

1. Clipping of chihuahua.

See also

• chi chi
• chi-chi
• chi chi man
• chi-ike
• chi ko pek
• tai chi
• tai-chi
• tai chi chuan

Anagrams

• CIH, HCI, ICH, IHC, Ich, hic, ich

Atsahuaca

Noun

chi

1. fire

Cornish

Alternative forms

• chy (Standard Cornish)
• chei (Revived Late Cornish)

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *tɨɣ, from Proto-Celtic *tegos, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-. Cognate with Breton ti, Irish teach, Manx thie, çhagh, Scottish Gaelic taigh, and Welsh tŷ.

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [tʃiː]

Noun

chi m (plural chiow)

1. house

Derived terms

• abatti (“abbey”)
• arbrovji (“laboratory”)
• arghanti (“bank”)
• asklotti (“chip shop”)
• batti (“mint”)
• bosti (“restaurant”)
• bragji (“brewery”)
• chanjya chi (“move house”, verb)
• Chi an Arydhi (“House of Lords”)
• Chi an Gemmynyon (“House of Commons”)
• chi dolli (“doll house”)
• chi golyow (“holiday house”)
• chi gweder (“greenhouse”)
• chi gwedhen (“tree house”)
• chi gwynn (“burning house”)
• chi tiek (“farmhouse”)
• chi unnik (“detached house”)
• chi unnleur (“bungalow”)
• chi-ladha (“butchery, slaughterhouse, abattoir”)
• chilader, chiladores (“burglar”)
• chiladrans (“burglary”)
• Chiow an Senedh (“Houses of Parliament”)
• diwotti (“pub, tavern”)
• folji (“mental hospital”)
• gevelji (“semi-detached house”)
• golghti (“laundry”)
• golowji (“lighthouse”)
• gwerthji (“shop”)
• gwiskti (“wardrobe”)
• gwrys y'n chi (“homemade”)
• hwelji (“workshop”)
• jynnji (“engine house”)
• kigti (“butcher's shop”)
• klavji (“hospital”)
• koskti (“dormitory”)
• lenji (“nunnery”)
• leti (“dairy (farm)”)
• leughti (“calf-house”)
• managhti (“monastery”)
• manerji (“manor house”)
• ordenor chi (“housekeeper”)
• pennti (“cottage”)
• popti (“bakery”)
• pronterji (“vicarage”)
• rannji (“flat, apartment”)
• ska'ti, skathti (“boathouse”)
• skolji (“school house”)
• yerji (“henhouse”)
• yn chi (“at home”)

Mutation

Mutation of chi

unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed	mixed after 'th
chi	ji	unchanged	unchanged	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Dutch

Etymology

From Ancient Greek χεῖ (kheî).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xi/

• Audio; [χij]:

  (file)

Noun

chi m or f (plural chi's, diminutive chi'tje n)

1. chi (letter of the Greek alphabet)

Further reading

• chi on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Esperanto

Particle

chi

1. H-system spelling of ĉi

Garo

Alternative forms

• চি

Etymology

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *tɯi¹ (“water”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-turʔ (“water; fluid; liquid; river; to soak; to spit”). Cognate with Atong (India) tyi (“water”), Kokborok twi (“water”).

Noun

chi

1. water

Derived terms

• chibatram
• chibima
• chibol
• chidari
• chidek
• chiga
• chiganduri
• chigitok
• chijima
• chiklok
• chimik
• chipek
• chirama
• chiret
• chiriking
• chiring
• chisam
• chisikwilwilgipa
• chitingkilok
• kramchi
• mikchi

References

• The Bodos in Assam: a socio-cultural study, year 2005-2006 (2007)

Guerrero Amuzgo

Noun

chi

1. grandfather

Adverb

chi

1. not

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/^*

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: chi

Etymology 1

From Latin quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís, *kʷos.

Pronoun

chi m or f (invariable) (interrogative pronoun)

1. who, whom; whoever

   Chi viene qui? ― Who goes there?

   Con chi vengono? ― Who are they coming with?

   Chi stiamo ascoltando? ― Who(m) are we hearing?

Etymology 2

From Latin quī, from Old Latin quei, from Proto-Italic *kʷoi.

Pronoun

chi m sg or f sg by sense (fused relative, indefinite)

1. he/she/they who, those who, the ones who; (archaic) whom

   La mamma bacia chi è bravo/a ― Mom kisses those who are brave.

   Amo solo chi mi ama ― I only love the ones who love me.

   Chi si scusa s'accusa. ― He who apologizes assumes his blame.

2. (absolute) whoever, who

   Vènga chi può. ― Come who can.

   Chi lo dicesse mentirebbe. ― Whoever said that would be lying.

3. (when repeated) some, ... others, etc.

   Chi leggeva, chi chiacchierava, chi disegnava. ― Some would read, some were chatting, others drawing.

4. (with a subjunctive)

   Chi mi domandasse ciò, non risponderei. ― If one were to ask me that, I would not answer.

   Cerco chi mi dia un buon consiglio. ― I am looking for someone who'd give a good advice.

Usage notes

• chi is a fused relative pronoun, meaning that its antecedents are comprised within its own meaning, it may either appear as a direct object or as a stand-alone subject. When expressing simple relativity, che or cui are used instead: "L'uomo che ti ha visto." not "L'uomo chi ti ha visto.".
• This pronoun may only refer to animates in the singular, it can be replaced by either colui che or quello che, which also have a plural.
• As an indefinite, chi will often be translated with a plural in English: "Vènga chi può", "Come who can" or "May those who can come, come".

See also

• che
• cui
• il quale

Etymology 3

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

chi

Wikipedia ^it

Borrowed from Latin chī, from Ancient Greek χεῖ (kheî).

Noun

chi m or f (invariable)

1. chi (Greek letter)

Further reading

chi in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Japanese

Romanization

chi

1. The hiragana syllable ち (chi) or the katakana syllable チ (chi) in Hepburn romanization.

K'iche'

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃʰiː/

Conjunction

chi

1. and
2. that
3. in

Related terms

• are chi (“in order that”)
• chi chawal (“in secret”)
• chi ikʼ (“monthly”)
• chi jumul (“once again”)
• chi nojimal (“slowly; little by little”)
• chi saqil (“in the open; openly”)
• libaj chi (“early”)
• rajwaxik chi (“to be necessary to”)
• taqom chi kaj (“commanded from heaven; sent from heaven”)
• -umal chi (“because”)
• wuqoj chi paq (“bubble”)
• wuqüb chi wuqub (“7x7”)

References

• Christenson, Allen J. (2003), Kʼicheʼ-English dictionary and Guide to the pronunciation of the Kʼicheʼ-Maya alphabet‎, Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, →OCLC

Kokborok

Numeral

chi

1. ten

References

• Binoy Debbarma, Concise Kokborok-English-Bengali Dictionary (2001)

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís. Cognates include French qui and Italian chi.

Pronoun

chi

1. who, whoever

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian chi, from Latin quis.

Pronoun

chi

1. who

Mandarin

Romanization

chi

1. nonstandard spelling of chī
2. nonstandard spelling of chí
3. nonstandard spelling of chǐ
4. nonstandard spelling of chì

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Norman

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Adjective

chi m

1. alternative form of chièr

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

chi

Wikipedia ^pl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: chi

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

chi

1. he (expression of laughter)

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek χεῖ (kheî).

Noun

chi n (indeclinable)

1. chi (Greek letter Χ, χ)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Mandarin 氣／气 (qì), from Middle Chinese 氣 (MC khj+jH), from Old Chinese 氣 (OC *kʰɯds).

Noun

chi n (indeclinable)

1. (philosophy, mysticism) chi (fundamental life-force or energy)

Further reading

• chi in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• chi in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi/

Noun

chi m (plural chis)

1. (Portugal, colloquial) bear hug (any especially large, tight or enthusiastic hug)

   Synonym: chi-coração

Noun

chi m (plural chis)

1. alternative form of qi

Further reading

• “chi”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

Sardinian

Etymology

From Latin quid, from Proto-Italic *kʷid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Conjunction

chi

1. (Limba Sarda Comuna) that

Pronoun

chi

1. (relative, Limba Sarda Comuna) who, whom, which (nominative and accusative case)

Sassarese

Etymology

From a conflation of Latin quia, quod, and other conjunctions.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki/

Conjunction

chi

1. that

   Li me' amigghi dìzini chi soggu simpàtiggu

   My friends say that I'm nice

2. than

   Mégliu figlioru di la bonasorthi chi figlioru di re

   Better [to be] son of good luck than son of a king

Derived terms

• daghì

Related terms

• che

Pronoun

chi

1. (relative) who, whom, which

   Lu giràniu, chi ha curori dibessi, dura umbè di tempu fioriddu

   Geraniums, which have various colors, stay in blossom for a long time

   (literally, “The geranium, which has different colors, lasts a lot of time in blossom”)

Adjective

chi (invariable)

1. Used in exclamations to indicate something remarkable; some, what a

   Chi festha! ― What a party!

References

• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006), Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Spanish

Etymology

From sí.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi/ [ˈt͡ʃi]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: chi

Particle

chi

1. (childish) synonym of sí (yes)

   Antonym: ño

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕi˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɪj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [cɪj˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Sino-Vietnamese word from 支 (“branch; to spend”).

Noun

chi

1. (taxonomy) genus

   Synonym: giống

Derived terms

• chi bộ
• chi cục
• chi đoàn
• chi đội
• chi hội
• chi nhánh
• chi uỷ

Related terms

taxonomic ranksedit

• vực, liên giới
• giới
• ngành
• lớp
• bộ
• họ
• chi, giống
• loài

Verb

chi

1. to spend (money); to pay out; to disburse

Derived terms

• bội chi
• chi dùng
• chi phí
• chi tiêu
• chi trả
• dự chi
• tạm chi
• thu chi

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 肢.

Noun

chi

1. (formal, anatomy, chiefly zoology) a limb

Usage notes

In everyday speech, limbs collectively are referred to as tay chân or chân tay, but there is no word for an individual limb, apart from the more specific tay (“arm”) and chân (“leg”).

Derived terms

• chi sau
• chi trước
• đầu óc ngu si, tứ chi phát triển

Etymology 3

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Is the meaning "what for" used in the Central dialects actually? Maybe it's a Southern semantic innovation due to competition with gì (which is not weird at all in Vietnamese, cf. đỏ (“red”) vs. hồng (“pink”)).”

From Proto-Vietic *ciː (“what”). Cognate with gì (the form affected by lenition) and Muong Bi chi.

Pronoun

chi • (之)

1. (Central Vietnam, literary elsewhere) what; whatever

   Synonym: gì

   Mi mần chi rứa?

   What are you doing over there?

   • (Can we date this quote?), “Tình đến rồi đi [Love Comes and Goes]”, performed by Thu Thủy:

     Cuộc tình đến rồi đi. Buồn làm chi nhung nhớ làm gì.

     Love comes and goes. Why be sad? Why be tormented by it?

Derived terms

• can chi
• chi bằng
• chi mô
• chưa chi
• hèn chi
• hề chi
• huống chi
• không có chi
• phải chi
• phương chi

Adverb

chi • (之)

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) what for

   Chi?

   For what?

   Làm vậy chi?

   What did you do that for?

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /χiː/
• Rhymes: -iː
• Homophone: ’chi

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh chwi, from Proto-Celtic *swīs (compare Breton c’hwi, Cornish hwi, Old Irish síi), from Proto-Indo-European *wos.

Alternative forms

• chwi (literary)

Pronoun

chi

1. you (plural; polite)

Usage notes

• In the singular, chi is a polite form like French vous or German Sie.
• Chi is a feature of most registers of Modern Welsh, whereas very literary Welsh employs chwi.
• In certain southwestern dialects, chi is used as the indefinite personal pronoun like English you.

Etymology 2

Noun

chi m

1. aspirated form of ci

Mutation

Mutated forms of ci

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ci	gi	nghi	chi

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.