DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

朕

Mandarin · pinyin zhèn

(used by an emperor or king) I; me; we (royal "we")
(literary) omen

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

朕: zhèn · pronoun 'I'

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4 · zhen4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link22same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

朕 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zam6

Cantonese word readings for 朕. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

(literary) omen; sign; portent (subtle signs before an event occurs; incipient state)
(archaic) I; me; my (general first-person pronoun used by anyone regardless of status, pre-Qin Dynasty)
(imperial) I; my; We (reserved for use by the emperor or empress dowager since the Qin Dynasty)
(Cantonese) alternative form of 𠹻 (zam6, “classifier for smells”)

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

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