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物化

Mandarin · pinyin wù huà

to objectify
(literary) to die

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Characters in this entry

物: wù · thing, substance, creature
化: huà · change, convert, reform; -ize

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · wu4 hua4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun · Etymology 1

(literary) change of things
(literary, figurative, euphemistic) death

verb · Etymology 1

(literary, figurative, euphemistic) to pass away

verb · Etymology 2

(sociology, psychology) to objectify; reify

noun · Etymology 3

(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 物理化學／物理化学 (wùlǐ huàxué, “physical chemistry”)

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

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