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江湖

Mandarin · pinyin jiāng hú

rivers and lakes
all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat
section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law; the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠 wǔ xiá)
(in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde
(in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld

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Characters in this entry

江: jiāng · large river; the Yangzi; surname
湖: hú · a lake; Hubei, Hunan; bluish-green

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · jiang1 hu2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gong1 wu4

Cantonese word readings for 江湖. 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.

noun

(literally) rivers and lakes
(figuratively) all corners of the country; (around) the whole country
(figuratively) society, community
(figuratively) wandering life; private and plebian domain beyond the control of the government; underworld
(figuratively) place of residence of a hermit; reclusive place
(figuratively) vagrant; itinerant (entertainer, quack doctor, swindler etc.)
(figuratively) old experienced person; man of experience

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

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