借口

Mandarin · pinyin jiè kǒu

Meanings

  1. to use as an excuse
  2. excuse; pretext
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Characters in this entry

借
jiè · borrow; lend; make pretext of
口
kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · jie4 kou3

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2character links1same-tone record
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Sentences in context

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ze3 hau2

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

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