俾 (bǐ) · (literary / classical) to cause; to make so that

Meanings

1 (literary / classical) to cause; to make so that
2 to enable
3 phonetic 'bi' in transliterations

Characters

俾

bǐ

to cause; to enable

Examples

HSK 7-9

请将通知公布，俾众周知。

Qǐng jiāng tōngzhī gōngbù, bǐ zhòng zhōuzhī.

Please publish the notice so that everyone may be informed.

HSK 7-9

改革税制，俾经济复苏。

Gǎigé shuìzhì, bǐ jīngjì fùsū.

Reform the tax system, so as to revive the economy.

Tips

register

Strictly literary/formal - you'll find 俾 in legal notices, classical texts and formulaic phrases like 俾众周知 ("so that everyone may be informed"). In modern speech use 使 or 让 instead.

history

Originally meant "gatekeeper / minor functionary", then by extension "to put someone in service of" gave the sense "to cause". Also the phonetic in 俾斯麦 (Bismarck).

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (left-side form of 人)

Standing-person radical on the left - the side-form of 人. Indexes 俾 in the human-action family. Originally 俾 referred to a humble servant or attendant; in classical Chinese the verbal sense "to cause, to enable" developed from that - a servant making things happen for a master.

phonetic

卑 bēi

humble; lowly

Right side 卑 supplies the sound with a tone shift: bēi to bǐ. 卑 also reinforces the meaning: it pictures a hand holding a small fan or paddle - the implement of a lowly servant. So the phonetic doubles as a semantic anchor: 俾 = a servant who acts.