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斬

简斩 · 繁斬

Mandarin · pinyin zhǎn

to behead (as form of capital punishment)
to chop

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斬: Look up this written character
斩: zhǎn · cut, chop, sever; behead

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Mandarin tones

3 · zhan3

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1character link18same-tone records

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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.

斬 · find source passages ↗ · 斩 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zaam2

Cantonese word readings for 斬. 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 cut (foods, mostly cooked, together with bones or shells) into large and rough parts forcefully
to hack; to chop
to behead (as punishment); to chop the waist
a surname, Zhan

character · Etymology 2

(Hokkien) alternative form of 鏨 /錾

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

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