皆 jiē all
all; every; everybody
How it came to be
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
In the bronze form, the bottom part gives the sound; later it changed into a shape like white.
用法
- A literary 'all/every', equivalent to 都 but formal: 人人皆知 (rénrén jiē zhī) known to all, 比比皆是 (bǐbǐ-jiēshì) can be found everywhere.
- 皆大欢喜 (jiēdàhuānxǐ) means everyone ends up happy / a happy ending for all. Written register; speech uses 都 (dōu).