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八

Mandarin · pinyin bā

eight

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八: bā · eight; all around, all sides

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · ba1

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1character link33same-tone records

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baat3

Cantonese word readings for 八. 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.

character · Etymology 1

eight
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) many; numerous
(printing) pearl (the smallest size of usual type, standardized as 5 point)
short for 八卦 (bāguà) — to gossip (about); to stick one's nose in
short for 八卦 (bāguà) — (Cantonese) nosey; meddling
a surname, Ba

character · Etymology 2

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to divide; to differentiate

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

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