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躊躇

简踌躇 · 繁躊躇

Mandarin · pinyin chóu chú

to hesitate
(literary) to pace back and forth
(literary) self-satisfied

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Characters in this entry

躊: Look up this written character
躇: chú · hesitate, falter, be undecided
踌: chóu · hesitate, falter; smug, self-satisfied

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · chou2 chu2

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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.

躊躇 · find source passages ↗ · 踌躇 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cau4 cyu4

Cantonese word readings for 躊躇. 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

to walk back and forth
to hesitate; to pause

adj

(literary) smug; complacent; self-satisfied

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

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