DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

改口

Mandarin · pinyin gǎi kǒu

to change one's tune
to modify one's previous remark
to change the way one addresses sb (as when one marries and starts to call one's husband's parents 爸爸 bà ba and 媽媽 mā ma)

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Characters in this entry

改: gǎi · change, alter; improve, remodel
口: kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · gai3 kou3

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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 · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

goi2 hau2

Cantonese word readings for 改口. 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 change one's story; to correct oneself
to address someone by a different name
to change accent

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

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