伐

Mandarin · pinyin fá

Meanings

  1. to cut down
  2. to fell
  3. to dispatch an expedition against
  4. to attack
  5. to boast
  6. Taiwan pr. fā
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Characters in this entry

伐
fá · cut down, subjugate, attack
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · fa2

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1character link15same-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 Wiktionary · 20 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fat6

Cantonese word readings for 伐. 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.

character · Etymology 1

  1. to kill; to slaughter; to behead
  2. to hack; to fell; to cut down; to hew
  3. to knock; to strike; to hit
  4. to send troops to suppress; to attack
  5. to remove; to eliminate; to take away
  6. to damage; to harm; to endanger
  7. to defeat; to thwart
  8. to criticize; to blame
  9. (Chinese astronomy) the name of three stars in the Three Stars mansion: 42 Orionis, θ2 Orionis and ι Orionis
  10. ridge soil
  11. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 閥 /阀 (fá, “merit; achievement”)
  12. to brag about (oneself); to flaunt
  13. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 瞂 (“shield”)
  14. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 罰 /罚 (fá, “to punish”)
  15. (Min) to stride; to take a stride; to step forward; to step over
  16. (Min) step; footstep; stride
  17. (Min) Classifier for footsteps: step
  18. a surname

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Wu) alternative form of 𠲎 (⁰va, “final interrogative particle on a yes/no question”)

character · Etymology 3

  1. (Wu) alternative form of 勿 (“not”)

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

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