DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
嗇
简 啬 · 繁 嗇Mandarin · pinyin sè
Meanings
- stingy
Characters in this entry
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Mandarin tones
4 · se4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link22same-tone records
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 · 11 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
sik1
Cantonese word readings for 嗇. 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
- original form of 穡／穑 (sè) — to reap
- original form of 穡／穑 (sè) — farming; farm labour
character · Etymology 2
- (obsolete) to cherish
- (obsolete) to save; to conserve; to not waste
- miserly; thrifty; stingy
- (obsolete) to covet
- (obsolete) to lack; to be insufficient
- (rare) to have a poor harvest
- (Zhangzhou Hokkien) silent and not speaking; not disclosing anything
- a surname
character · Etymology 3
- (obsolete) alternative form of 濇 /涩 (sè, “not smooth; not flowing”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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