式微

Chinese

		(meaningless particle)	tiny; minute; clandestine tiny; minute; clandestine; hide; elegant; exquisite
trad. (式微)		式	微
simp. #(式微)		式	微

Etymology

Rebracketing of 式微 (OC *hljɯɡ mɯl, “meaningless initial particle + to decline”) in a verse of the Classic of Poetry, poem 36 (《詩經·邶風·式微》):

式微式微，胡不歸？ [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

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式微式微，胡不归？ [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Shì wēi shì wēi, hú bù guī? [Pinyin]

Reduced! Reduced! Why not return?

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shìwēi, shìwéi

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˋ ㄨㄟ, ㄕˋ ㄨㄟˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sik¹ mei⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sek-bî

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shìwēi
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˋ ㄨㄟ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shìhwei
    • Wade–Giles: shih⁴-wei¹
    • Yale: shr̀-wēi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyhuei
    • Palladius: шивэй (šivɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩⁵¹ weɪ̯⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 式微 示威

      
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; dated variant in Mainland)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shìwéi
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˋ ㄨㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shìhwéi
    • Wade–Giles: shih⁴-wei²
    • Yale: shr̀-wéi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyhwei
    • Palladius: шивэй (šivɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩⁵¹ weɪ̯³⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 室韋 / 室韦 式微 視為 / 视为

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sik¹ mei⁴
    • Yale: sīk mèih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sik⁷ mei⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: xig¹ méi⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɪk̚⁵ mei̯²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sek-bî
    • Tâi-lô: sik-bî
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sekbii
    • IPA (Taipei): /siɪk̚³²⁻⁴ bi²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɪk̚³²⁻⁴ bi²³/

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• Middle Chinese: syik mj+j

Rime
Character	式	微
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	書 (26)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	職 (134)	微 (21)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	賞職切	無非切
Baxter	syik	mj+j
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕɨk̚/	/mʉi/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕɨk̚/	/mʷɨi/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕiek̚/	/miuəi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕik̚/	/muj/
Li Rong	/ɕiək̚/	/miuəi/
Wang Li	/ɕĭək̚/	/mĭwəi/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ək̚/	/mwe̯i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shi	wéi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sik1	mei4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ək  məj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*hljɯɡ  mɯl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	式	式	微
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shì	shì	wēi
Middle Chinese	‹ syik ›	‹ syik ›	‹ mjɨj ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ək/	/*l̥ək/	/*məj/
English	pattern	to wipe	small
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	式	微
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	14980	12801
Phonetic component	弋	微
Rime group	職	微
Rime subdivision	0	1
Corresponding MC rime	識	微
Old Chinese	/*hljɯɡ/	/*mɯl/

Verb

式微

1. (literary) to decline; to wane

Synonyms

edit

• 敗落 / 败落 (bàiluò)
• 替 (tì) (literary, or in compounds)
• 沒落 / 没落 (mòluò)
• 淪落 / 沦落 (lúnluò)
• 漉柵 / 漉栅 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
• 破落 (pòluò) (in wealth and position)
• 衰微 (shuāiwēi) (literary)
• 衰敗 / 衰败 (shuāibài)
• 衰落 (shuāiluò)
• 陵替 (língtì) (literary)
• 零落 (língluò)

Derived terms

• 漸趨式微 / 渐趋式微