始祖

Chinese

		begin	ancestor; forefather; grandparents
trad. (始祖)		始	祖
simp. #(始祖)		始	祖

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shǐzǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˇ ㄗㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ci² zou²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sṳ́-chú / chhṳ́-chú
• Eastern Min (BUC): sṳ̄-cū
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sí-chó͘

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shǐzǔ [Phonetic: shízǔ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˇ ㄗㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shǐhzǔ
    • Wade–Giles: shih³-tsu³
    • Yale: shř-dzǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyytzuu
    • Palladius: шицзу (šiczu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ci² zou²
    • Yale: chí jóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsi² dzou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: qi² zou²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiː³⁵ t͡sou̯³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ́-chú / chhṳ́-chú
    • Hakka Romanization System: sii` zu` / cii` zu`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: si³ zu³ / ci³ zu³
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨ³¹ t͡su³¹/, /t͡sʰɨ³¹ t͡su³¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ́-chú
    • Hakka Romanization System: sii` zu`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: si³ zu³
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨ³¹ t͡su³¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sṳ̄-cū
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sy³³⁻³⁵ ^(t͡s-)ʒu³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sí-chó͘
    • Tâi-lô: sí-tsóo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: syzor
    • IPA (Xiamen): /si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /si⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sɔ⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡sɔ⁴¹/

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• Middle Chinese: syiX tsuX

Rime
Character	始	祖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	書 (26)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	之 (19)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	詩止切	則古切
Baxter	syiX	tsuX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕɨX/	/t͡suoX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕɨX/	/t͡suoX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕieX/	/t͡soX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕɨX/	/t͡sɔX/
Li Rong	/ɕiəX/	/t͡soX/
Wang Li	/ɕĭəX/	/t͡suX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɕiX/	/t͡suoX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shǐ	zǔ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	si2	zou2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥əʔ  [ts]ˤaʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*hljɯʔ  ʔsaːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	始	祖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shǐ	zǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ syiX ›	‹ tsuX ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥əʔ/	/*[ts]ˁaʔ/
English	begin	ancestor
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	始	祖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	12291	10398
Phonetic component	台	且
Rime group	之	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	始	祖
Old Chinese	/*hljɯʔ/	/*ʔsaːʔ/

Noun

始祖

1. (literally) earliest ancestor; primogenitor; progenitor
2. (figuratively) originator; initiator; creator; founder

Synonyms

• (earliest ancestor): 鼻祖 (bízǔ), (literary) 先祖 (xiānzǔ)
• (originator): 鼻祖 (bízǔ)

Derived terms

• 始祖鳥／始祖鸟 (shǐzǔniǎo)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (始祖):

• → Japanese: 始祖(しそ) (shiso)
• → Korean: 시조(始祖) (sijo)
• → Vietnamese: thuỷ tổ (始祖)

Adjective

始祖

1. (attributive) primitive; archaeo-

Synonyms

• (literary) 草昧 (cǎomèi)
• 原始 (yuánshǐ)

Antonyms

• 開化／开化 (kāihuà)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
始	祖
し Grade: 3	そ Grade: 5
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
始祖 (kyūjitai)

Noun

始(し)祖(そ) • (shiso) 

1. founder