Link Centre Dictionary

chi

UK/t͡ʃaɪ/ US/ˈkaɪ/ fairly common informal slang

noun

1.

the circulating life energy that in Chinese philosophy is thought to be inherent in all things; in traditional Chinese medicine the balance of negative and positive forms in the body is believed to be essential for good health

Synonyms
2.

the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet

Synonyms

Origin

From the Mandarin 氣／气 (qì) from the Wade-Giles romanization: chʻi⁴, from Middle Chinese 氣 (MC khj+jH), from Old Chinese 氣 (OC *kʰɯds, “breath, vapor”). Compare modern Japanese 気(き) (ki), Korean 기(氣) (gi) and Vietnamese khí (氣).

Phrases

  • the equivalent Japanese unit

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.