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伯

Mandarin · pinyin bà#

variant of 霸 bà

Mandarin · pinyin bǎi#

one hundred (old)

Mandarin · pinyin bó#

father's elder brother
senior
paternal elder uncle
eldest of brothers
respectful form of address
Count, third of five orders of nobility 五等爵位 wǔ děng jué wèi

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伯: bó · older brother; father's elder brother; senior male 'sire'; feudal rank 'count'

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · ba4

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1character link22same-tone records2source references

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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 · 11 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baa3 · baak3 · mak6

Cantonese word readings for 伯. 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 · Etymology 1

(archaic) eldest brother
paternal uncle; father's elder brother
form of address for senior males
(historical) count (rank)
(Jilu Mandarin) mother
(Jilu Mandarin) paternal aunt (wife of father's elder brother)
(Wu) paternal aunt (father's sister)
a surname

character · Etymology 1

only used in 大伯子 (dàbǎizi, “husband's elder brother”)

character · Etymology 1

(obsolete) alternative form of 霸 (“feudal chief”)
(obsolete) alternative form of 霸 (“to dominate; to lead”)

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

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