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小乘

Mandarin · pinyin Xiǎo shèng

Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle
Buddhism in India before the Mayahana sutras
also pr. Xiǎo chéng

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Characters in this entry

小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
乘: chéng · ride, ascend; avail oneself of; numerary adjunct for vehicles

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Mandarin tones

3–4 · Xiao3 sheng4

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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

(Buddhism, originally derogatory, now usually neutral) Hinayana (early Buddhism; Theravada Buddhism)

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

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