麟 is also the simplified spelling of 麐.
DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
麟
Mandarin · pinyin lín
Meanings
- see 麒麟 qí lín
Characters in this entry
- 麟
- lín · female of Chinese unicorn
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · lin2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link50same-tone records1source reference
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
leon4
Cantonese word readings for 麟. 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
- used in 麒麟 (qílín, “qilin (propitious mythological beast)”); also used as its short form
- used in 麒麟 (qílín, “qilin (propitious mythological beast)”); also used as its short form — (historical dictionaries only) female of qilin
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) big deer
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 鱗 /鳞 (lín, “scale and shell”)
- used in 麟麟 (línlín, “bright”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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