DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
裁
Mandarin · pinyin cái
Meanings
- to cut out (as a dress)
- to cut
- to trim
- to reduce
- to diminish
- to cut back (e.g. on staff)
- decision
- judgment
Characters in this entry
- 裁
- cái · cut out; decrease
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · cai2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link8same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
coi4
Cantonese word readings for 裁. 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.
character
- to cut out; to cut into parts
- to cut down; to decrease; to lay someone off
- (literary, or in compounds) to control; to rule
- (literary, or in compounds) to judge; to decide
- (literary, or in compounds) to select and plan
- (literary, or in compounds) form of writing
- Classifier for divisions of standard-size printing paper.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack