策

Cantonese · source Jyutpingcaak3

Meanings

  1. policy
  2. plan
  3. scheme
  4. bamboo slip for writing (old)
  5. to whip (a horse)
  6. to encourage
  7. riding crop with sharp spines (old)
  8. essay written for the imperial examinations (old)
  9. upward horizontal stroke in calligraphy
  10. to urge
  11. crutches
  12. a surname
About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

caakcaak1—caak2—策caak3policycaak4—caak5—贼caak6thief

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

  • 策 Cè CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsurname Ce
  • 策 cè CC-CEDICT · Mandarinpolicy; plan; scheme; bamboo slip for writing (old); to whip (a horse); to encourage; riding crop with sharp spines (old); essay written for the imperial examinations (old); …

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: ce4. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 17 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caak3

Cantonese word readings for 策. 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

  1. plan; scheme; strategy
  2. (literary) to plan; to scheme
  3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to calculate; to estimate
  4. (historical) bamboo or wooden strips used for writing on in ancient China
  5. (historical) a kind of emperor's edict
  6. (historical) a type of essay in ancient China, used in imperial examinations where questions on political or economic affairs were set
  7. (historical) a kind of computing tool in ancient China, on which the multiplication table was written for multiplication, division or extracting the square root during the Qing dynasty
  8. (historical) spur
  9. (alt. form 敇) (literary) to spur; to whip; to urge with a horsewhip
  10. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to drive; to urge
  11. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) number; value
  12. (literary) cane; walking stick
  13. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to lean on; to rest on support
  14. (calligraphy) upward horizontal stroke (the fifth of the Eight Principles of Yong)
  15. (Mainland China Hokkien) to confer; to consult; to coordinate; to discuss
  16. (Chinese astronomy) Gamma Cassiopeiae
  17. a surname

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

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

CC-Canto · Pleco Inc. · edition 2017-02-02
Source line 31,052 · Original publisher · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edition & transformations

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Mandarin comparison: CC-CEDICT 2026-10-13, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source reading differences and six-tone sets: computed by zimai from Unihan 17.0.0 (Unicode License V3).

Exact source record & identity策 策 [ce4] {caak3} /policy/plan/scheme/bamboo slip for writing (old)/to whip (a horse)/to encourage/riding crop with sharp spines (old)/essay written for the imperial examinations (old)/upward horizontal stroke in calligraphy/to urge/crutches/a surname/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: fb889d50af133419f2b3900b89181033ca2b284bb66c554f376c7529ee59b984