弟子

Chinese

		younger brother	child; son; (noun suffix) child; son; (noun suffix); small thing; seed; egg; 1st earthly branch; 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight
simp. and trad. (弟子)		弟	子
alternative forms		弟仔 Northern Min
anagram		子弟

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dìzǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄧˋ ㄗˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): dai⁶ zi²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thi-chṳ́
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): tē-chú / tě-chír

  (Teochew, Peng'im): di⁶ ze²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶di-tsy

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dìzǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄧˋ ㄗˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dìzǐh
    • Wade–Giles: ti⁴-tzŭ³
    • Yale: dì-dž
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dihtzyy
    • Palladius: дицзы (diczy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti⁵¹ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: dai⁶ zi²
    • Yale: daih jí
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dai⁶ dzi²
    • Guangdong Romanization: dei⁶ ji²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɐi̯²² t͡siː³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thi-chṳ́
    • Hakka Romanization System: ti zii`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ti⁴ zi³
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi⁵⁵ t͡sɨ³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tē-chú
    • Tâi-lô: tē-tsú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: dexzuo
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /te³³⁻²¹ t͡su⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /te³³⁻¹¹ t͡su⁵³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /te²²⁻²¹ t͡su⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tě-chír
    • Tâi-lô: tě-tsír
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /te²² t͡sɯ⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: di⁶ ze²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tĭ tsṳ́
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti³⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sɯ⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶di-tsy
    • MiniDict: di^去 tsy
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³di-tsr
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /di²² t͡sz̩⁴⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: dejX|dejH tsiX

Rime
Character	弟	弟	子
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)	定 (7)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	齊 (39)	齊 (39)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	IV	III
Fanqie	徒禮切	特計切	即里切
Baxter	dejX	dejH	tsiX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/deiX/	/deiH/	/t͡sɨX/
Pan Wuyun	/deiX/	/deiH/	/t͡sɨX/
Shao Rongfen	/dɛiX/	/dɛiH/	/t͡sieX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dɛjX/	/dɛjH/	/t͡sɨX/
Li Rong	/deiX/	/deiH/	/t͡siəX/
Wang Li	/dieiX/	/dieiH/	/t͡sĭəX/
Bernard Karlgren	/dʱieiX/	/dʱieiH/	/t͡siX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	dì	dì	zǐ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	dai6	dai6	zi2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*lˤəjʔ  [ts]əʔ|tsəʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*diːlʔ|diːls  ʔslɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	弟	子	子
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	dì	zǐ	zǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ dejX ›	‹ tsiX ›	‹ tsiX ›
Old Chinese	/*lˁəjʔ/	/*[ts]əʔ/	/*tsəʔ/
English	younger brother	1st earthly branch	child; gentleman, master
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	弟	弟	子
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
No.	2294	2297	17857
Phonetic component	弟	弟	子
Rime group	脂	脂	之
Rime subdivision	1	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	弟	第	子
Old Chinese	/*diːlʔ/	/*diːls/	/*ʔslɯʔ/
Notes	甲金文象繩束弋（朱芳圃說），繞弋繩須次第不亂方利於射， 爲第初文

Noun

弟子

1. disciple; follower

   • 子曰：「若聖與仁，則吾豈敢？抑為之不厭，誨人不倦，則可謂云爾已矣。」公西華曰：「正唯弟子不能學也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     子曰：「若圣与仁，则吾岂敢？抑为之不厌，诲人不倦，则可谓云尔已矣。」公西华曰：「正唯弟子不能学也。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Zǐyuē: “Ruò shèng yǔ rén, zé wú qǐ gǎn? Yì wèi zhī bùyàn, huì rén bùjuàn, zé kě wèi yún ěr yǐ yǐ.” Gōngxī huá yuē: “Zhèng wéi dìzǐ bùnéng xué yě.” [Pinyin]

     The Master said: "How dare I presume to be sagely and humane? I merely strive to become such without being disappointed, to teach people without being tired; this much can be said of me." Gongxi Hua said: "This is just what (we) disciples and pupils cannot learn to."

2. (dialectal Mandarin, Northern Min, dialectal Wu) younger brother

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 弟弟 (“younger brother”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		弟
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		弟弟
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	兄弟, 弟弟
	Taiwan	弟弟
	Harbin	兄弟, 弟弟
	Malaysia	弟弟
	Singapore	弟弟
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	兄弟, 弟弟
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	兄兒, 兄弟
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	兄弟
	Wanrong	兄弟 male speaker, 弟子 female speaker
	Xi'an	兄弟
	Xining	兄弟, 弟弟
	Xuzhou	弟弟, 兄弟
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	兄弟
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	兄弟
	Ürümqi	弟弟, 兄弟, 富康子
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	弟娃兒, 兄弟, 弟弟
	Wuhan	弟弟, 兄弟
	Guiyang	弟, 兄弟, 弟弟 childish
	Liuzhou	弟, 阿弟, 老弟
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	弟弟, 兄弟
	Yangzhou	兄弟, 弟弟
	Nantong	弟子
	Hefei	兄弟, 弟弟
Cantonese	Guangzhou	細佬, 弟弟
	Hong Kong	細佬, 弟弟
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	細佬
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	細佬
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	細佬
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	阿弟
	Macau	細佬
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	細佬
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	細佬
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	細佬
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	細佬
	Foshan	細佬
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	細佬
	Foshan (Shunde)	細佬
	Foshan (Sanshui)	細佬
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	細佬
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	細佬
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	細佬
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	細佬
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	細佬
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	細佬
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	細佬
	Taishan	細佬, 阿弟, 細, 弟
	Kaiping (Chikan)	阿弟, 細佬
	Enping (Niujiang)	阿弟
	Heshan (Yayao)	細佬
	Dongguan	細佬, 弟弟
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	細佬
	Shaoguan	細佬
	Yangjiang	小弟
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	細佬
	Singapore (Guangfu)	細佬
Gan	Nanchang	老弟, 兄弟
	Lichuan	弟
	Pingxiang	老弟
Hakka	Meixian	老弟, 老弟仔
	Xingning	老弟, 老弟里
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	老弟
	Huiyang	老弟
	Huidong (Daling)	老弟
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	老弟
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	老弟
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	老弟
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	老弟
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	老弟
	Wuhua (Changbu)	老弟
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	老弟
	Wuhua (Meilin)	老弟
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	老弟
	Wengyuan	老弟
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	老弟
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	老弟
	Liannan	老弟
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	弟弟
	Jiexi	老弟
	Luhe	老弟
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	阿弟
	Changting	老弟
	Wuping	老弟
	Wuping (Yanqian)	老弟子
	Wuping (Pingyu)	老弟子
	Liancheng	老弟
	Ninghua	老弟
	Yudu	老弟
	Ningdu	老弟
	Ruijin	老弟
	Shicheng	老弟
	Shangyou (Shexi)	老弟
	Tonggu (Sandu)	老弟
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	老弟
	Dayu	弟佬
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	老弟
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	老弟
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	老弟
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	老弟
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	老弟
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	阿弟
	Hong Kong	老弟
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	老弟
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	細佬
	Xinyi (Sihe)	老弟, 細佬
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	老弟, 細佬
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	老弟
	Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai)	老弟
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	老弟
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	老弟
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	阿弟, 老弟
	Mengshan (Xihe)	老弟
	Luchuan	老弟
	Sabah (Bao'an)	老弟
	Sabah (Longchuan)	老弟
	Senai (Huiyang)	老弟
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	老弟
	Singkawang	阿弟, 老弟
Huizhou	Jixi	弟
Jin	Taiyuan	兄弟, 弟弟
	Xinzhou	兄弟
Northern Min	Jian'ou	弟仔
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	依弟 face-to-face, 弟
Southern Min	Xiamen	小弟, 阿弟 face-to-face
	Quanzhou	小弟, 阿弟 face-to-face
	Zhangzhou	小弟, 阿弟 face-to-face
	Zhao'an	細弟仔, 細弟
	Kaohsiung	小弟
	Yilan	小弟
	Changhua (Lukang)	小弟
	Taichung	小弟
	Taichung (Wuqi)	小弟
	Tainan	小弟
	Taitung	小弟
	Hsinchu	小弟
	Penghu (Magong)	小弟
	Penang (Hokkien)	小弟, 阿棣
	Singapore (Hokkien)	小弟, 阿弟 face-to-face
	Manila (Hokkien)	小弟
	Chaozhou	阿弟
	Shantou	阿弟
	Jieyang	阿弟
	Haifeng	阿弟, 弟, 弟弟
	Bangkok (Teochew)	阿弟
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	阿弟
	Singapore (Teochew)	阿弟
	Leizhou	老弟
	Haikou	老弟 non-face-to-face, 阿弟 face-to-face
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	細佬, 弟弟
	Sanxiang	細佬
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	老弟
Wu	Shanghai	弟弟, 阿弟, 兄弟
	Shanghai (Chongming)	兄弟
	Suzhou	兄弟, 弟弟
	Danyang	弟子
	Hangzhou	阿弟, 弟弟
	Ningbo	阿弟, 弟弟 face-to-face
	Wenzhou	阿弟
	Jinhua	弟
Xiang	Changsha	老弟, 弟弟
	Loudi	老弟
	Shuangfeng	老弟, 弟弟

• (disciple):

• 學師仔／学师仔 (hok⁶ si¹ zai²) (Cantonese)
• 學徒／学徒 (xuétú)
• 學徒工／学徒工 (xuétúgōng)
• 學生／学生 (xuéshēng)
• 師仔／师仔 (Hokkien, Taishanese)
• 師仔工／师仔工 (Hokkien)
• 師哥／师哥 (Longyan Min)
• 師囝／师囝 (sai¹ gian²) (Teochew)
• 徒工 (túgōng)
• 徒弟 (túdì)
• 徒弟伢子 (dou² di⁴ nga² zr) (Xiang)
• 徒弟娃兒／徒弟娃儿 (tu² di⁴ war²) (Sichuanese)
• 門人／门人 (ménrén)
• 門徒／门徒 (méntú)
• 門生／门生 (ménshēng) (literary)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (弟子):

• → Japanese: 弟子(でし) (deshi)
• → Korean: 제자(弟子) (jeja)
• → Vietnamese: đệ tử (弟子)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
弟	子
てい Grade: 2	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 弟子 (MC dejX tsiX). Probably the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) て​ーし [téꜜèshì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [te̞ːɕi]

Noun

弟(てい)子(し) • (teishi) 

1. a disciple, an apprentice
2. (Buddhism) on a mala or Buddhist rosary, the ten small beads closest to the end of the portion that hangs free from the largest bead

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
弟	子
で Grade: 2	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

Appears to be a shift from teishi above. This is now the most common reading for the disciple, apprentice sense.

Alternative forms

• (honorific) お弟子(でし) (o-deshi)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) でし​ [dèshíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [de̞ɕi]

Noun

弟(で)子(し) • (deshi) 

1. an apprentice, a disciple
   • Kore Yamazaki, “第1篇　April showers bring May flowers. [Composition 1: April showers bring May flowers.]”, in [魔法使いの嫁](The Ancient Magus Bride) [The Ancient Magus’ Bride], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Mag Garden, page 20:

     君(きみ)を魔法使い(ぼく)の弟(で)子(し)として歓(かん)迎(げい)するよ　死の愛し仔(スレイ・ベガ)…いや　チセ

     Kimi o boku no deshi to shite kangeisuru yo Surei Bega… Iya Chise

     You are welcome as my apprentice, Sleih Beggey… I mean, Chise

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
弟	子
おと Grade: 2	こ > ご Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 弟 (oto, “younger”, cognate with 弟 (otōto, “younger brother”), itself from oto + 人 (hito, “person”)) +‎ 子 (ko, “child”). The ko changes to go as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Alternative forms

• 乙子

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞to̞ɡo̞]

Noun

弟(おと)子(ご) • (otogo) 

1. the youngest child
2. short for 弟子月 (otogo-zuki, “December” in the lunar calendar)

Synonyms

(youngest child):

• 末(ばっ)子(し) (basshi)
• 末(すえ)っ子(こ) (suekko)

(December):

• 師(し)走(わす) (shiwasu) (old lunar calendar)
• 十(じゅう)二(に)月(がつ) (jūnigatsu) (modern solar calendar)

Anagrams

• 子(し)弟(てい) (shitei)

Korean

Hanja in this term
弟	子

Noun

弟子 • (jeja) (hangeul 제자)

1. Hanja form^? of 제자 (“disciple; pupil”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
弟	子

Noun

弟子

1. chữ Hán form of đệ tử (“disciple; underling”).