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徘徊

Mandarin · pinyin pái huái

to pace back and forth
to dither; to hesitate
(of sales figures etc) to fluctuate

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Characters in this entry

徘: pái · walk back and forth, hesitate
徊: huái · linger, walk to and fro, hesitate

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · pai2 huai2

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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 · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pui4 wui4

Cantonese word readings for 徘徊. 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.

verb

to pace back and forth; to walk to and fro; to wander
(figurative) to linger; to hover around; to be reluctant to leave
(figurative) to hesitate; to dither; to waver
(figurative) to oscillate; to fluctuate; to vary (between two values)

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

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