About
The character 斯 (sī) is a phono-semantic compound combining the meaning element 斤 (jīn) 'axe' with the phonetic element 其 (qí). Reflecting the axe, its original sense was 'to cut' or 'split', but that meaning became obsolete long ago. The character was then repurposed as a phonetic loan, first as a demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'these' in classical literature, and later as a common character for transliterating foreign names and terms in modern Chinese.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这个斯文的男孩是我的同学。
莫斯科是俄罗斯的首都。
斯科特先生来自英国。
斯里兰卡以红茶闻名。
瓦斯泄漏是非常危险的。
他对这件事进行了斯文的抗议。
波斯地毯具有独特的手工艺价值。
斯人已逝，但其精神永存。
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