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優柔寡斷

简优柔寡断 · 繁優柔寡斷

Mandarin · pinyin yōu róu guǎ duàn

indecisive
irresolute

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Characters in this entry

優: Look up this written character
柔: róu · soft; gentle, pliant
寡: guǎ · widowed; alone, friendless
斷: Look up this written character
优: yōu · superior, excellent; actor
断: duàn · sever, cut off; interrupt

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · you1 rou2 gua3 duan4

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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.

優柔寡斷 · find source passages ↗ · 优柔寡断 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jau1 jau4 gwaa2 dyun6

Cantonese word readings for 優柔寡斷. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) indecisive, irresolute; indecisiveness

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

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