DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
元首
Mandarin · pinyin yuán shǒu
Meanings
- head of state
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Mandarin tones
2–3 · yuan2 shou3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
2character links1same-tone record
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
jyun4 sau2
Cantonese word readings for 元首. 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.
noun
- head of state
- monarch; sovereign; king; ruler — (Malaysia, specifically) Yang di-Pertuan Agong
- monarch; sovereign; king; ruler — (Hong Kong, specifically, historical) the monarch; the personal embodiment of the Crown
- (Classical) beginning
- (Classical, literally) head
- (historical or Internet slang) Führer (the title of Adolf Hitler when he was the leader of Nazi Germany)
- (historical or Internet slang) Führer (the title of Adolf Hitler when he was the leader of Nazi Germany) — (by extension, derogatory) a leader deemed as or like a tyrant or dictator, especially one with authoritarian or fascist tendancies
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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