支吾

Chinese

		(a measure word); to support; to sustain (a measure word); to support; to sustain; to erect; to raise; branch; division; to draw money	I; my
trad. (支吾)		支	吾
simp. #(支吾)		支	吾
alternative forms		枝梧

Etymology

The semantic development was “to support > to resist; to defy > to cope with; to deal with > to (fail to) resist > to stall off; to boggle > to falter; to equivocate”. All other senses are basically obsolete in the modern language.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhīwú

  (Zhuyin): ㄓ ㄨˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ ng⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chi-ngô͘ / ki-ngô͘

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhīwú → zhīwu (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Zhuyin: ㄓ ㄨˊ → ㄓ ˙ㄨ (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhihwů
    • Wade–Giles: chih¹-wu⁵
    • Yale: jr̄-wu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jy.wu
    • Palladius: чжиу (čžiu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ u³⁵/ → /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ u²/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi¹ ng⁴
    • Yale: jī ǹgh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ ng⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ ng⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ ŋ̍²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-ngô͘
    • Tâi-lô: tsi-ngôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cingoo
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡si⁴⁴⁻²² ŋɔ̃²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ki-ngô͘
    • Tâi-lô: ki-ngôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kingoo
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ki⁴⁴⁻²² ŋɔ̃²⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: tsye ngu

Rime
Character	支	吾
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	章 (23)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	支 (11)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	章移切	五乎切
Baxter	tsye	ngu
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ɕiᴇ/	/ŋuo/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡ɕiɛ/	/ŋuo/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ɕjɛ/	/ŋo/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ciə̆/	/ŋɔ/
Li Rong	/t͡ɕie/	/ŋo/
Wang Li	/t͡ɕǐe/	/ŋu/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡ɕie̯/	/ŋuo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhī	wú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zi1	ng4

Verb

支吾

1. to falter; to prevaricate; to equivocate
2. (archaic) to deal with a person just for the occasion
3. (archaic) to prop up; to support
4. (archaic) to resist; to defy; to oppose
5. (archaic) to handle
6. (archaic) to divert oneself from loneliness
7. (archaic) to hesitate

Derived terms

• 支吾其詞／支吾其词 (zhīwuqící)
• 支支吾吾 (zhīzhīwúwú)

 

Adjective

支吾

1. (archaic) in a predicament