秦始皇

Chinese

		surname; name of a dynasty	first emperor; Qin Shi Huang (259–210
trad. (秦始皇)		秦	始皇
simp. ^#(秦始皇)		秦	始皇

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): Qín Shǐhuáng

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄕˇ ㄏㄨㄤˊ

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): Чиншыхуон (Činšɨhuon, I-I-I)
Cantonese (Jyutping): ceon⁴ ci² wong⁴
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): Chîn Sí-hông

(Teochew, Peng'im): cing⁵ si² huang⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zhin-sy-waon

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Qín Shǐhuáng
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄕˇ ㄏㄨㄤˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Cín Shǐhhuáng
  - Wade–Giles: Chʻin² Shih³-huang²
  - Yale: Chín Shř-hwáng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Chyn Shyyhwang
  - Palladius: Цинь Шихуан (Cinʹ Šixuan)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰin³⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: Чиншыхуон (Činšɨhuon, I-I-I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ²⁴ ʂʐ̩²⁴ xuɑŋ²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ceon⁴ ci² wong⁴
  - Yale: chèuhn chí wòhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsoen⁴ tsi² wong⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: cên⁴ qi² wong⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɵn²¹ t͡sʰiː³⁵ wɔːŋ²¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chîn Sí-hông
  - Tâi-lô: Tsîn Sí-hông
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ciin sy'hoong
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sin²⁴⁻²² si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hɔŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sin²⁴⁻²² si⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ hɔŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sin¹³⁻²² si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hɔŋ¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sin²⁴⁻¹¹ si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hɔŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sin²³⁻³³ si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hɔŋ²³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: cing⁵ si² huang⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshîng sí huâng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ si⁵²⁻³⁵ huaŋ⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zhin-sy-waon
  - MiniDict: zhin^去 sy waon
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³xxin-sr-hhuaan
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ʑin²² sz̩⁵⁵ ɦuɑ̃²¹/

Proper noun

秦始皇

(historical) Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor of China)

Usage notes

Although the forms First Emperor, Shi Huangdi, and Shih Huang-ti remain more common in non-scholarly English, 秦始皇 is much more common in modern Chinese, with the non-truncated forms only appearing in scholarly or historical works.
The personal names 嬴政 (attested since the Three Kingdoms period) and the rare hypercorrections 趙政／赵政 (Zhào Zhèng) (attested since the middle Western Han) are anachronisms: Chinese of the period generally employed their 姓 (xìng, “ancestral names”), 氏 (shì, “clan names”), and 名 (míng, “given names”) separately and not in the compound form of modern Chinese.
In historical context, referred to as 秦王政 (Qínwáng Zhèng, “Zheng, King of Qin”) before his unification of China.

Synonyms

秦皇 (Qínhuáng)
秦始皇帝 (Qín Shǐhuángdì)
始皇帝 (Shǐhuángdì)

Noun

秦始皇

(Wu) alternative form of 情書王 / 情书王 (“expert in writing love letters”) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)