Character: 契
Modern (Beijing) reading: qì
Preclassic Old Chinese: khēts
Classic Old Chinese: khēć
Western Han Chinese: khjāś
Eastern Han Chinese: khiāś
Early Postclassic Chinese: khiēś
Middle Postclassic Chinese: khiḕj
Late Postclassic Chinese: khiḕj
Middle Chinese: khìej
English meaning : to carve, inscribe, perforate
Russian meaning[s]: 1) условие, контракт, купчая крепость; заключать (контракт); 2) симпатия, дружба; дружить; приемный, усыновленный; побратимство; 3) Ци (фамилия); [qiè] разлука, расставание (друзей); [xiè] в именах людей
Comments: A later meaning is 'carving, notch; > side, angle'. Used also for a homonymous *khēts 'to be distressed'; also read *khēt, MC khiet (FQ 苦結), Pek. qiè, Viet. khiết 'be separated'. Viet. khía is colloquial; standard Sino-Viet. is khế.
Radical: 37
Four-angle index: 4928
Karlgren code: 0279 b
Go-on: ke
Kan-on: kei
Japanese reading: kei;chigiru
Vietnamese reading: khía
Shijing occurrences: 31.4
