執牛耳

Chinese

		to grasp	ear of a bull
trad. (執牛耳)		執	牛耳
simp. (执牛耳)		执	牛耳

Etymology

In the Zhou dynasty, the acknowledged alliance leader would hold the plate on which lie the ears of a sacrificial bull.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhí niú'ěr

(Zhuyin): ㄓˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄦˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zap¹ ngau⁴ ji⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhí niú'ěr
  - Zhuyin: ㄓˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄦˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhíh nióu-ěr
  - Wade–Giles: chih² niu²-êrh³
  - Yale: jŕ nyóu-ěr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyr nioueel
  - Palladius: чжи нюэр (čži njuer)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zap¹ ngau⁴ ji⁵
  - Yale: jāp ngàuh yíh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzap⁷ ngau⁴ ji⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: zeb¹ ngeo⁴ yi⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɐp̚⁵ ŋɐu̯²¹ jiː¹³/

Middle Chinese: tsyip ngjuw nyiX

Rime
Character	執	牛	耳
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	章 (23)	疑 (31)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	緝 (141)	尤 (136)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III	III
Fanqie	之入切	語求切	而止切
Baxter	tsyip	ngjuw	nyiX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ɕiɪp̚/	/ŋɨu/	/ȵɨ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡ɕip̚/	/ŋiu/	/ȵɨ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ɕjep̚/	/ŋiəu/	/ȵʑie^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/cip̚/	/ŋuw/	/ȵɨ^X/
Li Rong	/t͡ɕiəp̚/	/ŋiu/	/ȵiə^X/
Wang Li	/t͡ɕĭĕp̚/	/ŋĭəu/	/ȵʑĭə^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡ɕi̯əp̚/	/ŋi̯ə̯u/	/ȵʑi^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhi	yóu	ěr
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zap¹	ngau⁴	ji⁵

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[t]ip [ŋ]ʷə C.nəʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*tjib ŋʷɯ njɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	執	牛	耳
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zhí	niú	ěr
Middle Chinese	‹ tsyip ›	‹ ngjuw ›	‹ nyi^X ›
Old Chinese	/*[t]ip/	/*[ŋ]ʷə/ (< uvular?)	/*C.nəʔ/
English	seize	ox	ear
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	執	牛	耳
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
No.	17290	9564	2783
Phonetic component	執	牛	耳
Rime group	緝	之	之
Rime subdivision	2	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	執	牛	耳
Old Chinese	/*tjib/	/*ŋʷɯ/	/*njɯʔ/
Notes	甲金文象梏人雙手，幸象梏非聲

Verb

執⫽牛耳 (verb-object)

to be a leader; to hold supremacy; to occupy a leading position