欤

歟

yú

与 + 欠

Definitions

yú (literary) (final particle similar to 嗎|吗[ma], 呢[ne] or 啊[ā])

Etymology phono-semantic

lack

Semantic: 欠 Phonetic: 与

About

The character 欤 (traditional form 歟) is a phono-semantic compound. The right-side radical 欠 denotes actions related to opening the mouth, exhaling breath, or making vocal expressions, providing the semantic clue. The left-side component 与 (traditional 與) indicates the pronunciation. In classical Chinese, 欤 is employed exclusively as a sentence-final particle, where it modulates the tone to express a sense of lingering doubt, rhetorical questions, mild surprise, or emotional exclamations. It is comparable to modern question particles but carries a distinctly literary flavor.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这是你的书欤？

Zhè shì nǐ de shū yú?

Is this your book?

你愿意帮忙欤？

Nǐ yuànyì bāngmáng yú?

Are you willing to help?

他今天来学校欤？

Tā jīntiān lái xuéxiào yú?

Is he coming to school today?

我们可以回家欤？

Wǒmen kěyǐ huí jiā yú?

Can we go home?

此事确实重要欤？

Cǐ shì quèshí zhòngyào yú?

Is this matter really important?

你为何选择离开欤？

Nǐ wèihé xuǎnzé líkāi yú?

Why did you choose to leave?

天气如此恶劣，你还要外出欤？

Tiānqì rúcǐ èliè, nǐ hái yào wàichū yú?

The weather is so bad, are you still going out?

面对重重困难，我们不应放弃希望欤？

Miànduì chóngchóng kùnnán, wǒmen bù yīng fàngqì xīwàng yú?

Facing numerous difficulties, shouldn't we give up hope?

Related Characters

Component: 与

Component: 欠