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掩

Mandarin · pinyin yǎn

to cover up; to conceal
to close (a door, book etc)
(coll.) to get (one's fingers etc) caught when closing a door or lid
(literary) to launch a surprise attack

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掩: yǎn · to cover (with the hand); shut, conceal; ambush

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

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Mandarin tones

3 · yan3

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1character link63same-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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jim2

Cantonese word readings for 掩. 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 · Etymology 1

to cover; to hide; to conceal; to cover up
to close; to shut
to close; to shut — (Cantonese) to close partially
(dialectal, colloquial) to get pinched; to get squeezed (while shutting a door, lid, etc.)
(literary, or in compounds) to ambush; to attack by surprise
(literary) to stop; to cease; to halt
(Hokkien) to bury (something) in the ground
(Hokkien) to bury (something) in the ground — (Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to bury (a dead person) in the ground

character · Etymology 2

(Hokkien) to cover; to hide; to conceal; to cover up
(Mainland China Hokkien) to give or take (something) secretly

character · Etymology 3

(Xiamen and Taiwanese Hokkien) to cover
(Xiamen and Taiwanese Hokkien) to protect and take care of
(Taiwanese Hokkien) to support; to feed (a family)

character · Etymology 4

(Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to cover; to hide; to conceal; to cover up

character · Etymology 5

(Sujiahu Wu) to hide (oneself)
(Sujiahu Wu) to hide away oneself; to avoid (someone); to shy away from

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

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