DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

三跪九叩

Mandarin · pinyin sān guì jiǔ kòu

to kneel three times and kowtow nine times (formal etiquette on meeting the emperor)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
跪: guì · kneel
九: jiǔ · nine
叩: kòu · knock, ask; kowtow, bow

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–3–4 · san1 gui4 jiu3 kou4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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.

三跪九叩 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 gwai6 gau2 kau3

Cantonese word readings for 三跪九叩. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(historical) the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, used as a salutation to the emperor

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack