秘書

See also: 秘书, 祕書, and 祕书

Chinese

	secret	book; letter
trad. (秘書/祕書)	秘/祕	書
simp. (秘书)	秘	书
nonstandard simp.	祕书

Etymology

In premodern China, originally the title for a government position in charge of reports to the throne, and imperial correspondence and directives.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): mìshū

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄧˋ ㄕㄨ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bei³ syu¹
Gan (Wiktionary): 'bi⁴ xy¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): pi-sû
Eastern Min (BUC): bé-cṳ̆
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): pì-su / pì-sir / pì-si

(Teochew, Peng'im): bi³ ze¹
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵pi-sy
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): bei⁴ xy¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Hanyu Pinyin: mìshū → mìshu (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄧˋ ㄕㄨ → ㄇㄧˋ ˙ㄕㄨ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: mìshů
  - Wade–Giles: mi⁴-shu⁵
  - Yale: mì-shu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mih.shu
  - Palladius: мишу (mišu)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi⁵¹ ʂu⁵⁵/ → /mi⁵¹ ʂu¹/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    密書 / 密书
    秘書 / 秘书
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: bei³ syu¹
  - Yale: bei syū
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bei³ sy¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: béi³ xu¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pei̯³³ syː⁵⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: 'bi⁴ xy¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˈpi³⁵ ɕy⁴²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: pi-sû
  - Hakka Romanization System: bi su^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: bi⁴ su¹
  - Sinological IPA: /pi⁵⁵ su²⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: bé-cṳ̆
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi²¹³⁻⁵⁵ ^(t͡s-)ʒy⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese, Philippines)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pì-su
  - Tâi-lô: pì-su
  - Phofsit Daibuun: piesw
  - IPA (Philippines): /pi⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ su³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /pi²¹⁻⁵³ su⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /pi²¹⁻⁴¹ su⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /pi¹¹⁻⁵³ su⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pì-sir
  - Tâi-lô: pì-sir
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /pi⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ sɯ³³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pì-si
  - Tâi-lô: pì-si
  - Phofsit Daibuun: piesy
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /pi²¹⁻⁵³ si⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: bi³ ze¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pì tsṳ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi²¹³⁻⁵⁵ t͡sɯ³³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵pi-sy
  - MiniDict: pi^去 sy
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²pi-sr
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /pi³³ sz̩⁴⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: bei⁴ xy¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pe̞i̯⁴⁵ ɕy³³/

Noun

秘書

secretary (person who does clerical work)
(historical) title for an official in charge of reports to the throne as well as imperial correspondence and directives [est. 159 CE]
- 謹以二尺黃紙寫上，請事平，以本簡書及所新寫並付祕書繕寫，藏之中經，副在三閣。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
  谨以二尺黄纸写上，请事平，以本简书及所新写并付秘书缮写，藏之中经，副在三阁。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
  From: c. 280s, the preface to The Travels of Mu, Son of Heaven written by Xun Xu, translated by Cheng Te-k’un
  Jǐn yǐ èr chǐ huáng zhǐ xiě shàng, qǐng shì píng, yǐ běn jiǎnshū jí suǒ xīn xiě bìng fù bìshū shànxiě, cáng zhī zhōngjīng, fù zài sāngé. [Pinyin]
  Therefore, Your Majesty’s servant has carefully translated the old text on yellow sheets of paper two feet in size, and begs that when at leisure, Your Majesty will order the court secretary to copy it out together with the original text and store it up to the third hall as one of the Middle Classics.

Derived terms

文秘 (wénmì)
男秘 (nánmì)
秘書處 / 秘书处 (mìshūchù)
秘書長 / 秘书长 (mìshūzhǎng)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
秘	書
ひ Grade: 6	しょ Grade: 2
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
祕書 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [çiɕo̞]

Noun

秘(ひ)書(しょ) • (hisho)

secretary (person keeping records and handling clerical work)

Korean

Hanja in this term
秘	書

Noun

秘書 • (biseo) (hangeul 비서)

Alternative spelling of 祕書

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
秘	書

Noun

秘書

chữ Hán form of bí thư (“secretary”).