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刺耳

Mandarin · pinyin cì ěr

ear-piercing

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Characters in this entry

刺: cì · stab; prick, irritate; prod
耳: ěr · ear; merely, only; handle; Kangxi radical 128

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · ci4 er3

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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 · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ci3 ji5

Cantonese word readings for 刺耳. 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.

adj

(of a shrill or loud sound) irritating to the ear; penetrating; shrill; ear-piercing
(figurative, of words) caustic; uncomfortable to hear

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

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