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衰微

Mandarin · pinyin shuāi wēi

to decline; to wane
weakened; enfeebled; in decline

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衰: shuāi · decline, falter, decrease; weaken
微: wēi · small, prefix micro-, trifling

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · shuai1 wei1

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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

seoi1 mei4

Cantonese word readings for 衰微. 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

(literary) to decline; to wane; to weaken

adj

(literary) in decline; waning; weakened

noun

(～卦) A combination 二上四中一下 in the Lingqijing.

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

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