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自焚

Mandarin · pinyin zì fén

to set oneself on fire; to self-immolate

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自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
焚: fén · burn

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · zi4 fen2

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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 · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 fan4

Cantonese word readings for 自焚. 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.

verb

to self-immolate
(figurative) to self-destroy; to lead to the demise of oneself

noun

self-immolation

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

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