別

別 (Kangxi radical 18, 刀+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 口尸中弓 (RSLN), four-corner 6220₀, composition ⿰𠮠刂)

• 捌, 㭭

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 138, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1924
• Dae Jaweon: page 312, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 328, character 13
• Unihan data for U+5225

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 冎 (“bone”) + 刂 (“knife”), hence 𠛰 – to cut up bone and flesh. Later, the character was stylized as 別. See also 另.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *brat (“cut apart, cut open”). Cognate to 八 (OC *preːd, “to divide; to differentiate”), 列 (OC *red), 裂 (OC *red). See also Burmese ပြတ် (prat, “to cut off”) (Hill, 2019).

Mei (2008) proposes that the intransitive sense "to leave, to part" (with voiced initial *b- in Middle Chinese) is primary and that the transitive sense "to discriminate, to discriminate" (with voiceless initial *p-) is derived from the intransitive sense with the Old Chinese causative prefix *s-, resulting in a devoicing effect: *s-b- > *s-p- > *p-; compare 黑 (OC *s-mək, “black”) from 墨 (OC *mək, “ink”). On the other hand, Sagart and Baxter (2012) consider the intransitive sense to be derived from the transitive sense (*pret) by prefixation of *N-, resulting in a voicing effect: *N-p- > *N-b- > *b-; compare 敗 (OC *N-pˤrat-s, “to suffer defeat”) from 敗 (OC *pˤrat-s, “to defeat”).

別

1. (literary) to divide; to separate
2. to distinguish; to differentiate; to discriminate

   區別／区别  ―  qūbié  ―  difference; to distinguish

3. distinction; difference; contrast

   天壤之別／天壤之别  ―  tiānrǎngzhībié  ―  a world of difference

4. group; class; kind

   性別／性别  ―  xìngbié  ―  sex; gender

   派別／派别  ―  pàibié  ―  sect

5. to leave; to part

   永別／永别  ―  yǒngbié  ―  to part forever

   不辭而別／不辞而别  ―  bùcí'érbié  ―  to leave without saying goodbye

   久別重逢／久别重逢  ―  jiǔ bié chóngféng  ―  to meet after a long separation

6. (Wu, dialectal Mandarin) to turn; to change

   恐怕有人聽見，把頭別轉來望著門外。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
   恐怕有人听见，把头别转来望著门外。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

   From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE

   Kǒngpà yǒurén tīngjiàn, bǎ tóu bié zhuǎnlái wàng zhe ménwài. [Pinyin]

   Worrying if someone might be listening, he turned his head and went towards the door.

7. to pin; to clip
8. to stick something in; to bolt
9. (Southern Min) to interpret (one's fortune); to predicate

   See also: 逼

   別籤詩／别签诗 [Hokkien]  ―  piat chhiam-si [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to interpret lottery poetry (poetry associated with fortune sticks)

10. another; other

    別人／别人  ―  biérén  ―  other people

    你以為你還有別的選擇嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
    你以为你还有别的选择吗？ [MSC, simp.]

    Nǐ yǐwéi nǐ hái yǒu bié de xuǎnzé ma? [Pinyin]

    You think you have other options?

    • 1919, 《新舊約全書：官話和合譯本》 [Mandarin Bible, Union Version], Shanghai: American Bible Society, 出埃及記 [Exodus] 34:14:

      不可敬拜別神、因爲耶和華是忌邪的上帝、名爲忌邪者。 [MSC, trad.]
      不可敬拜别神、因为耶和华是忌邪的上帝、名为忌邪者。 [MSC, simp.]

      Bùkě jìngbài bié shén, yīnwèi Yēhéhuá shì jìxié de Shàngdì, míngwéi Jìxiézhě. [Pinyin]

      for you shall worship no other god; for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. [World English Bible]

11. special; unique; peculiar; particular

    別致／别致  ―  biézhì  ―  distinctive; novel

12. misspelled; erroneous

    別字／别字  ―  biézì  ―  incorrectly written or mispronounced character

13. by oneself; on one's own; separately

    別樹一幟／别树一帜  ―  biéshùyīzhì  ―  to have a distinct style of one's own

    • 項梁使沛公及項羽別攻城陽，屠之。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
      项梁使沛公及项羽别攻城阳，屠之。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

      From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

      Xiàng Liáng shǐ Pèigōng jí Xiàng yǔ bié gōng Chéngyáng, tú zhī. [Pinyin]

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

14. a surname

Yang (2017) and Liu (2021) suggest the sense "do not" is a contraction of 不要 (bùyào). Thus, it is a doublet of 別要／别要, and 嫑 (báo).

別

1. had better not; do not; don't

   別去！／别去！  ―  Bié qù!  ―  Don't go!

   我的事你別管。／我的事你别管。  ―  Wǒ de shì nǐ bié guǎn.  ―  Stay out of my business.

   別忘了在你的信上貼張郵票。 [MSC, trad.]
   别忘了在你的信上贴张邮票。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bié wàng le zài nǐ de xìn shàng tiē zhāng yóupiào. [Pinyin]

   Don't forget to put a stamp on your letter.

   • 1791, 曹雪芹 [Cao Xueqin], chapter 21, in 紅樓夢 [Dream of the Red Chamber]‎^[1], 程甲本 edition:

     你別走，我有話和你說呢。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     你别走，我有话和你说呢。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     Nǐ bié zǒu, wǒ yǒu huà hé nǐ shuō ne. [Pinyin]

     Don't leave. I have something to tell you.

2. particle used with 是 after it to express supposition, often an imagined unfavourable scenario
   • 1791, 曹雪芹 [Cao Xueqin], chapter 40, in 紅樓夢 [Dream of the Red Chamber]‎^[2], 庚辰本 edition:

     劉姥姥聽了，喜的忙跑過來，拉著惜春說道：「我的姑娘。你這麼大年紀兒，又這麼個好模樣，還有這個能幹，別是神仙托生的罷。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     刘姥姥听了，喜的忙跑过来，拉着惜春说道：「我的姑娘。你这么大年纪儿，又这么个好模样，还有这个能干，别是神仙托生的罢。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     Liú lǎolǎo tīng le, xǐ de máng pǎo guòlái, lā zhe Xīchūn shuōdào: “Wǒ de gūniáng. Nǐ zhème dà niánjìr, yòu zhème ge hǎo móyàng, háiyǒu zhège nénggàn, bié shì shénxiān tuōshēng de ba.” [Pinyin]

     Upon hearing this, Granny Liu joyfully rushed over and said to Xichun, “My girl, you are of such an age, so beautiful, and so capable. You must not be reincarnation of an immortal, right?”

• “別”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[3], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long], 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu], 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying], 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019) “别（离～）”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 212.

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: べち (bechi)
• Kan-on: へつ (hetsu)
• Kan’yō-on: べつ (betsu, Jōyō)
• Kun: わかれる (wakareru, 別れる, Jōyō)、わける (wakeru, 別ける)、わかれ (wakare)

• (Tokyo) べつ [bètsú] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [be̞t͡sɨ]

別(べつ) • (betsu) -na (adnominal 別(べつ)な (betsu na), adverbial 別(べつ)に (betsu ni))

1. different, separate, another

• 別(べつ)に (betsu ni)

別(べつ) • (betsu) 

1. difference

   男女(だんじょ)の別(べつ)

   danjo no betsu

   difference between the sexes

2. another

   別(べつ)の人(ひと)にも言(い)われた

   betsu no hito ni mo iwareta

   was told such by someone else too

3. exception

   日本(にほん)は別(べつ)として

   Nihon wa betsu to shite

   setting aside Japan

   事実(じじつ)かどうかは別(べつ)にして

   jijitsu ka dō ka wa betsu nishite

   setting aside whether it is the truth or not

別(べつ) • (-betsu) 

1. separated by

   ジャンル別(べつ)の映画(えいが)

   janru-betsu no eiga

   movies by genre

• IPA^(key): [be̞t͡ɕi]

別(べち) • (bechi) ^†-nari

1. different, separate, another

別(べち) • (bechi) 

1. difference

From Ainu ペッ (pet, “water, river”). The kanji spelling is an example of ateji.

• IPA^(key): [be̞t͡sɨ]

別(べつ) • (betsu) 

1. used in toponyms of Hokkaido

別 (eumhun 다를 별 (dareul byeol))

1. hanja form^? of 별 (“difference”)

別: Hán Nôm readings: biệt, biết, bét, bết, bệt, bịt, bẹt, bít

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.