保管

Mandarin · pinyin bǎo guǎn

Meanings

  1. to hold in safekeeping; to have in one's care
  2. to guarantee
  3. certainly; surely
  4. custodian; curator
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Characters in this entry

保
bǎo · protect, safeguard, defend, care
管
guǎn · pipe, tube, duct; woodwind music
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · bao3 guan3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bou2 gun2

Cantonese word readings for 保管. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

  1. to take care of; to safeguard; to ensure safekeeping

adv

  1. certainly; surely

noun

  1. guardian; storeman; stockman; storekeeper; custodian

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack