DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

蟊賊

简蟊贼 · 繁蟊賊

Mandarin · pinyin máo zéi

insect that damages cereal crop seedlings
(lit. and fig.) vermin
a person harmful to the country and the people

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Characters in this entry

蟊: máo · grain-eating grub
賊: Look up this written character
贼: zéi · thief, traitor; kill

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · mao2 zei2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maau4 caak6

Cantonese word readings for 蟊賊. 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

(Classical, literally) grain-eating insect
(figuratively) person harmful to the country and the people

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

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