DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

圈子

Mandarin · pinyin quān zi

circle
ring
(social) circle

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Characters in this entry

圈: quān · to circle; a circle; corral
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5 · quan1 zi5

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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 Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hyun1 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 圈子. 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

circle; ring
(figurative) community; clique; social circle
(figurative) scope
(regional, card games) queen (Q)
(Xuzhou Mandarin) earring
(Shanghainese) pork intestine

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

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