霸主

Mandarin · pinyin bà zhǔ

Meanings

  1. a powerful chief of the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)
  2. overlord
  3. hegemon
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Characters in this entry

霸
bà · rule by might rather than right
主
zhǔ · master, chief owner; host; lord
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · ba4 zhu3

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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 · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baa3 zyu2

Cantonese word readings for 霸主. 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

  1. (historical) powerful leader of feudal lords (of the Spring and Autumn period)
  2. (figurative) overlord; hegemon

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

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