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孱

Mandarin · pinyin càn#

used in 孱頭 càn tou

Mandarin · pinyin chán#

(bound form) weak; feeble

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Characters in this entry

孱: chán · weak, unfit, frail, feeble

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · can4

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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

caan3 · caan4 · saan1 · saan4 · zaan6

Cantonese word readings for 孱. 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

(literary) weak; small; frail; feeble
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) meager; mean; shallow
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) cautious

character

only used in 孱頭／孱头 (càntou, “coward; weakling”)

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

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