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姑娘

Mandarin · pinyin gū niang

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姑: gū · father's sister; husband's mother
娘: niáng · mother; young girl; woman; wife

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5 · gu1 niang5

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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 · 14 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gu1 noeng4

Cantonese word readings for 姑娘. 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

girl; maiden; unmarried woman
(Mandarin, Gan, Jin, colloquial) daughter
(Jilu, Central Plains, Jianghuai and Southwestern Mandarin, Gan, Huizhou, Shaowu Min, Wu) paternal aunt (father's sister)
(Jianghuai Mandarin, Yangjiang Yue, Wu) sister-in-law (husband's sister)
(Southwestern Mandarin) wife
(historical, obsolete) concubine
(chiefly Cantonese, Southern Min, Christianity) nun or unmarried female preacher (often as a title)
(Cantonese) female nurse, healthcare professional, social worker, etc.
(colloquial, dialectal) female prostitute
(Muping Mandarin) young sorceress; young witch
(Northern Thai Mandarin) woman
(Guangzhou Cantonese, dated) Ms.; Miss
(Pingxiang Gan) young married woman
(alt-of, alternative, name) Alternative name for 菇蔫 (gūniān, “bladder cherry”).

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

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