DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
左
Characters in this entry
- 左
- zuǒ · left; east; unorthodox, improper
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Mandarin tones
3 · zuo3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link6same-tone records1source reference
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 · 16 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
zo2
Cantonese word readings for 左. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- left (direction)
- (typography) below
- east; areas to the east
- (nautical) port
- (historical) inferior position
- unorthodox; wrong
- erroneously; mistakingly
- different; divided; inconsistent
- (politics) left-wing
- (chemistry) levo-
- (Sichuanese, of singing) out of tune; off-key
- (Southwestern Mandarin, including Sichuanese) to exchange
- (Eastern Min) devious, dishonest
- (Xiang) wrong; incorrect
- a surname
character
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) original form of 佐 (zuǒ, “to assist”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack