主人公

Mandarin · pinyin zhǔ rén gōng

Meanings

  1. hero (of a novel or film); main protagonist
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Characters in this entry

主
zhǔ · master, chief owner; host; lord
人
rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
公
gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1 · zhu3 ren2 gong1

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

  1. protagonist (main character)
  2. (literary, honorific) host (person who receives or entertains other people as guests)

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

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