別

See also: 别

別	U+5225, 別 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5225

← 判
[U+5224]

CJK Unified Ideographs

刦 →
[U+5226]

Translingual

Han character

Stroke order

別 (Kangxi radical 18, 刀+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 口尸中弓 (RSLN), four-corner 6220₀, composition ⿰𠮠刂)

Derived characters

哵, 𡌀, 𡷘, 𢃉, 捌, 𪶃, 㭭, 𪺤, 𦛺, 𥇂, 𥒻, 𥞲, 𠣶, 𦖇, 𫊽, 𮐆, 𧧸, 𨡊, 𨧢, 𪿍, 𬩁, 𩷤
𤿱, 𡋾, 莂, 𥦂, 䇷, 𨴾

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 138, character 12
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1924
Dae Jaweon: page 312, character 1
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 328, character 13
Unihan data for U+5225

Chinese

trad.		別/别^*
simp.		别^*
alternative forms		𠛰𠔁 ancient

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 別
Shang	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Qin slip script	Small seal script

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

	Old Chinese
捌	preːd, praːd
哵	*preːd
別	pred, bred
莂	*pred

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 冎 (“bone”) + 刂 (“knife”), hence 𠛰 – to cut up bone and flesh. Later, the character was stylized as 別. See also 另.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *brat (“cut apart, cut open”). Cognate to 八 (OC *preːd, “to divide; to differentiate”), 列 (OC *red), 裂 (OC *red).

Mei (2008) proposes that the intransitive sense "to leave, to part" (with voiced initial *b- in Middle Chinese) is primary and that the transitive sense "to discriminate, to discriminate" (with voiceless initial *p-) is derived from the intransitive sense with the Old Chinese causative prefix *s-, resulting in a devoicing effect: *s-b- > *s-p- > *p-; compare 黑 (OC *s-mək, “black”) from 墨 (OC *mək, “ink”). On the other hand, Sagart and Baxter (2012) consider the intransitive sense to be derived from the transitive sense (*pret) by prefixation of *N-, resulting in a voicing effect: *N-p- > *N-b- > *b-; compare 敗 (OC *N-pˤrat-s, “to suffer defeat”) from 敗 (OC *pˤrat-s, “to defeat”).

Sense "do not" is a contraction of 不要 (bùyào).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): bié (bie²)

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄧㄝˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): bie²

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): бә (bə, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): bit⁶

(Taishan, Wiktionary): bet⁵
Gan (Wiktionary): piet⁶
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): phe̍t

(Meixian, Guangdong): piêd⁶
Northern Min (KCR): piĕ / bie̿
Eastern Min (BUC): bĕk / biék / biĕk
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): pa̍t / pia̍t / piat

(Teochew, Peng'im): biêg⁸ / biag⁸ / bag⁸
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁸beq; ⁸biq

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bié
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄧㄝˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bié
  - Wade–Giles: pieh²
  - Yale: byé
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bye
  - Palladius: бе (be)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi̯ɛ³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: bie²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: bie
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /piɛ²¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: бә (bə, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pə²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: bit⁶
  - Yale: biht
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bit⁹
  - Guangdong Romanization: bid⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /piːt̚²/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: bet⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pet̚³²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: piet⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰiɛt̚⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phe̍t
  - Hakka Romanization System: ped
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ped⁶
  - Sinological IPA: /pʰet̚⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: piêd⁶
  - Sinological IPA: /pʰiɛt̚⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: piĕ / bie̿
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰiɛ²⁴/, /piɛ³³/

Note: bie̿ - “other”.

Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: bĕk / biék / biĕk
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɛiʔ⁵/, /piɛʔ²⁴/, /pieʔ⁵/

Note:

bĕk - vernacular (“other; different”);
biék - “to distinguish”;
biĕk - literary (“to leave; another”).

Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pa̍t / pia̍t / piat
  - Tâi-lô: pa̍t / pia̍t / piat
  - Phofsit Daibuun: pat, piat, piad
  - IPA (Xiamen): /pat̚⁴/, /piɛt̚⁴/, /piɛt̚³²/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /pat̚²⁴/, /piɛt̚²⁴/, /piɛt̚⁵/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /pat̚¹²¹/, /piɛt̚¹²¹/, /piɛt̚³²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /pat̚⁴/, /piɛt̚⁴/, /piɛt̚³²/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /pat̚⁴/, /piɛt̚⁴/, /piɛt̚³²/

Note:

pa̍t - vernacular (“other”);
pia̍t - literary (“to separate; to leave; surname in Mainland”);
piat - literary (“to distinguish; to interpret; surname in Taiwan”).

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: biêg⁸ / biag⁸ / bag⁸
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pie̍k / pia̍k / pa̍k
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /piek̚⁴/, /piak̚⁴/, /pak̚⁴/

Note:

biêg8 - Chaozhou;
biag8 - Shantou;
bag8 - “other”.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁸beq; ⁸biq
  - MiniDict: beh^入; bih^入
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵beq; ⁵biq
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /bəʔ¹²/, /biɪʔ¹²/

Note:

5beq - vernacular;
5biq - literary.

Middle Chinese: bjet, pjet

Rime
Character	別	別
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	並 (3)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	薛 (83)	薛 (83)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	皮列切	方别切
Baxter	bjet	pjet
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/bˠiᴇt̚/	/pˠiᴇt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/bᵚiɛt̚/	/pᵚiɛt̚/
Shao Rongfen	/biæt̚/	/piæt̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/biat̚/	/piat̚/
Li Rong	/bjɛt̚/	/pjɛt̚/
Wang Li	/bĭɛt̚/	/pĭɛt̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/bʱi̯ɛt̚/	/pi̯ɛt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bié	bie
Expected Cantonese Reflex	bit⁶	bit³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*N-pret/, /*pret/

(Zhengzhang): /*bred/, /*pred/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	別	別
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bié	bié
Middle Chinese	‹ bjet ›	‹ pjet ›
Old Chinese	/*N-pret/	/*pret/
English	be separated (intr.)	separate (tr.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	別	別
Reading #	2/2	1/2
No.	821	820
Phonetic component	别	别
Rime group	月	月
Rime subdivision	2	2
Corresponding MC rime	别	䇷
Old Chinese	/*bred/	/*pred/

Definitions

別

(literary) to divide; to separate
to distinguish; to differentiate; to discriminate
區別／区别 ― qūbié ― difference; to distinguish
distinction; difference; contrast
天壤之別／天壤之别 ― tiānrǎngzhībié ― a world of difference
group; class; kind
性別／性别 ― xìngbié ― sex; gender

派別／派别 ― pàibié ― sect
to leave; to part
永別／永别 ― yǒngbié ― to part forever

不辭而別／不辞而别 ― bùcí'érbié ― to leave without saying goodbye

久別重逢／久别重逢 ― jiǔ bié chóngféng ― to meet after a long separation
(Wu, dialectal Mandarin) to turn; to change
恐怕有人聽見，把頭別轉來望著門外。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
恐怕有人听见，把头别转来望着门外。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE
Kǒngpà yǒurén tīngjiàn, bǎ tóu bié zhuǎnlái wàng zhe ménwài. [Pinyin]
Worrying if someone might be listening, he turned his head and went towards the door.
to pin; to clip
to stick something in; to bolt
(Southern Min) to interpret (one's fortune); to predicate
See also: 逼

別籤詩／别签诗 [Hokkien] ― piat chhiam-si [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― to interpret lottery poetry (poetry associated with fortune sticks)
another; other
別人／别人 ― biérén ― other people

你以為你還有別的選擇嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
你以为你还有别的选择吗？ [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ yǐwéi nǐ hái yǒu bié de xuǎnzé ma? [Pinyin]
You think you have other options?
special; unique; peculiar; particular
別致／别致 ― biézhì ― distinctive; novel
misspelled; erroneous
別字／别字 ― biézì ― incorrectly written or mispronounced character
by oneself; on one's own; separately
別樹一幟／别树一帜 ― bié shù yī zhì ― to have a distinct style of one's own
- 項梁使沛公及項羽別攻城陽，屠之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  项梁使沛公及项羽别攻城阳，屠之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Xiàng Liáng shǐ Pèigōng jí Xiàng yǔ bié gōng Chéngyáng, tú zhī. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
had better not; do not; don't
別去！／别去！ ― Bié qù! ― Don't go!

我的事你別管。／我的事你别管。 ― Wǒ de shì nǐ bié guǎn. ― Stay out of my business.

別忘了在你的信上貼張郵票。 [MSC, trad.]
别忘了在你的信上贴张邮票。 [MSC, simp.]
Bié wàng le zài nǐ de xìn shàng tiē zhāng yóupiào. [Pinyin]
Don't forget to put a stamp on your letter.
particle used with 是 after it to express supposition, often an imagined unfavourable scenario
a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 別 (“do not”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		勿, 莫₁, 毋, 無
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		別, 不要, 勿, 別要 chiefly Hong Kong
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	別, 別價
	Taiwan	別, 不要
	Harbin	別
	Malaysia	不要
	Singapore	不要
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	別, 別價, 甭價, 不要
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	別
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	嫑, 甭₁, 休
	Wanrong	嫑, 不要
	Xi'an	嫑, 不敢
	Xining	嫑
	Xuzhou	嫑, 休
Lanyin Mandarin	Lanzhou	不要
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	嫑
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	莫₁, 不要, 嫑
	Wuhan	莫₁, 不
	Guiyang	不要
	Guilin	莫₁
	Liuzhou	莫₁, 莫要
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	莫₁
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	不要
	Yangzhou	莫₁, 不要
	Hefei	別, 不要
Cantonese	Guangzhou	咪, 咪個, 唔好
	Hong Kong	咪, 唔好, 冇
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	唔好
	Macau	唔要
	Foshan (Shunde)	咪
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	咪
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	唔好
	Taishan	唔好
	Kaiping (Chikan)	唔好
	Dongguan	咪, 唔好
	Shaoguan	咪
	Yunfu	咪, 唔好
	Yangjiang	莫₁, 無好
	Xinyi	毛
	Lianjiang	冇
	Nanning	冇要
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	咪
	Singapore (Guangfu)	咪, 唔好
Gan	Nanchang	莫₁
	Lichuan	毋要, 不要
	Pingxiang	不要
Hakka	Meixian	莫₁, 毋愛, 毋好
	Xingning	毋愛
	Huidong (Daling)	毋好
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	毋好
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	毋好
	Changting	毋要
	Liancheng	毋要
	Ninghua	毋要
	Yudu	毋要, 毋敢
	Ruijin	毋要
	Shicheng	毋要
	Shangyou (Shexi)	毋要
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	毋好
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	毋好
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	毋好
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	毋好
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	毋好
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	毋好
	Hong Kong	毋好
	Sabah (Longchuan)	毋愛
	Senai (Huiyang)	毋好
	Kuching (Hepo)	唔愛
Huizhou	Jixi	不要, 嫑
	Shexian	不要, 嫑
	Huangshan (Tunxi)	不要, 嫑
Jin	Taiyuan	不要, 不敢
Jin	Xinzhou	不要, 嫑, 播
Northern Min	Jian'ou	伓敢, 伓讓, 毋
Northern Min	Pucheng (Shibei)	伓敢
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	伓通, 毋
	Fuqing	伓通
	Matsu	毋
Southern Min	Xiamen	毋通, 毋愛, 莫₂, 𱰠, 莫用, 汰
	Quanzhou	毋通, 毋愛, 甭₂, 莫用, 汰
	Zhangzhou	毋通, 莫₂, 甭₂, 𱰠, 莫用, 汰
	Zhao'an	孬
	Taipei	莫₂
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	莫去
	Kaohsiung	莫₂
	Yilan	毋通, 莫₂
	Changhua (Lukang)	莫₂
	Tainan	莫₂, 甭₂
	Penang (Hokkien)	莫₂, 毋通, 甭₂
	Singapore (Hokkien)	莫₂, 毋通, 甭₂
	Manila (Hokkien)	毋通, 甭₂
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	別
	Chaozhou	孬, 莫₂
	Shantou	孬, 莫₂
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	莫₂
	Jieyang	孬, 莫₂
	Haifeng	莫₂
	Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)	孬
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	孬
	Penang (Teochew)	莫₂
	Singapore (Teochew)	莫₂, 孬
	Leizhou	無地
	Haikou	無用, 莫₂, 無莫
	Qionghai	無用
	Singapore (Hainanese)	無用
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	冇要
Wu	Shanghai	勿要, 𧟰
	Shanghai (Chongming)	拗
	Suzhou	𧟰
	Wuxi	𧟰
	Nantong (Haimen)	拗, 拗要, 弗要
	Danyang	弗要, 𫸻
	Hangzhou	嫑
	Hangzhou (Yuhang)	弗要, 消, 𧟰
	Ningbo	莫, 甮
	Wenzhou	𧟰
	Lishui	⿰毋樂
	Qingyuan	⿰否樂
	Jinhua	𫸻, 弗要, 弗用
Xiang	Changsha	莫₁, 不要
	Loudi	不要, 莫₁
	Shuangfeng	莫₁
	Quanzhou	別

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (別):

→ Vietnamese: biệt (別)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 別 – see 彆 (“to make someone change their opinion; to dissuade”). (This character is a variant form of 彆).