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馘

Mandarin · pinyin guó

(literary) to cut off the left ear of a slain enemy
the severed ear of a slain enemy

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馘: guó · cut off left ear; tally dead enemy

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · guo2

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1character link16same-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.

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwik1 · gwok3

Cantonese word readings for 馘. 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

(historical) severed left ear of a slain enemy (as trophy and tally for military merit)
(historical) to cut off the left ear of an enemy
(by extension) killed enemy; dead enemy
(by extension, rare) to kill

character

The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: — cheek; face
(alt-of, alternative) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: — alternative form of 𤷇 (xù, “headache; aching head”)

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

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