[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Abstract-Concepts \ #Pronouns # 其 qí third person pronoun ## Components [[甘 (gān)]] [[甘 gān]] [[八 (bā)]] [[八 bā]] ## Meaning "其" (qí) is more commonly used in literary or formal contexts compared to everyday conversation. While it is used in both spoken and written language, it is often employed in more formal or literary writing, as well as in official documents. In everyday spoken Chinese, people tend to use simpler pronouns such as "他" (tā) for "he" or "她" (tā) for "she". However, "其" can still be encountered in formal speech, especially when speakers want to add a sense of formality or sophistication to their language. - Is primarily used as a third-person pronoun, meaning "it", "he", "she", "its", "his", or "her". - In addition to being a pronoun, "其" can also be used as an adjective, meaning "its", "his", or "her". ## History The character "其" (qí) originally represented a winnowing basket made of bamboo strips or willow twigs, used to hold and sift grains. "其" is a pictophonetic character, with its original meaning being a winnowing basket, which is the root meaning of "箕" (jī). In oracle bone script, "其" resembles the shape of a winnowing basket, with two short horizontal lines on top representing the handles on both sides of the winnowing basket, and a basket-shaped structure with curved lines below, indicating that winnowing baskets in ancient times were made of bamboo strips or willow twigs. In bronze inscriptions, "其" became a phonetic loan character, with the component "氏" (shì) below indicating its pronunciation. In modern Chinese, "其" is borrowed to represent the third-person pronoun. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[其 qí - ora.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[其 qí - bronce.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[其 qí - sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[其 qí - cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[其 qí - reg.svg]]