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持

Mandarin · pinyin chí

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持: chí · sustain, support; hold, grasp

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · chi2

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1character link27same-tone records

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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 · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ci4

Cantonese word readings for 持. 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

to hold; to grasp
to hold (views, opinions, etc.)
to manage; to run
to sustain; to support
to oppose (each other)
to control; to hold under duress

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack