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許

简许 · 繁許

Mandarin · pinyin xǔ#

Mandarin · pinyin Xǔ#

surname Xu

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Characters in this entry

許: Look up this written character
许: xǔ · allow, permit; promise; betroth

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

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Mandarin tones

3 · xu3

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1character link19same-tone records

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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.

許 · find source passages ↗ · 许 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fu2 · heoi2

Cantonese word readings for 許. 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 · Etymology 1

to allow; to permit
to promise
to betroth
to praise
maybe; perhaps
(literary) approximately
so; such
(literary) place

character · Etymology 2

a surname

character · Etymology 4

(Gan, Min, Wu) that

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

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