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語言

简语言 · 繁語言

Mandarin · pinyin yǔ yán

language
Classifier: 門 mén, 種 zhǒng

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Characters in this entry

語: Look up this written character
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
语: yǔ · language, words; saying, expression

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · yu3 yan2

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2character links1same-tone record3source references

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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 · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyu5 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 語言. 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

(countable, uncountable) language (Classifier: 種／种 m c; 門／门 m)
speech; spoken language
written language
(literary) sound of a bird
(literary) conversation

verb

(literary) to tell

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

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