DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
小說
简 小说 · 繁 小說Mandarin · pinyin xiǎo shuō
Meanings
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Mandarin tones
3–1 · xiao3 shuo1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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 · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
siu2 syut3
Cantonese word readings for 小說. 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 · Etymology 1
- (literature) fiction (including novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction) (Classifier: 本; 部)
- (literary) petty words
- (literary) (1st to 18th centuries AD) miscellaneous book (various narrative and didactic texts: the telling of miscellaneous facts, the writing down of strange rumors, and the compilation of gossip)
noun · Etymology 2
- (literary) little joy
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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