詞窮

简 词穷 · 繁 詞窮
Mandarin · pinyin cí qióng

Meanings

  1. to not know what to say; to be lost for words
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Characters in this entry

詞
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窮
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词
cí · words; phrase, expression
穷
qióng · poor, destitute, impoverished
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · ci2 qiong2

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ci4 kung4

Cantonese word readings for 詞窮. 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

  1. to be unable to give a response as one is in the wrong or has given flawed arguments

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

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