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元古宙

Mandarin · pinyin Yuán gǔ zhòu

pre-Cambrian (geological eon 2500-645m)

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Characters in this entry

元: yuán · first; dollar; origin; head
古: gǔ · old, classic, ancient
宙: zhòu · time as concept; infinite time

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4 · Yuan2 gu3 zhou4

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyun4 gu2 zau6

Cantonese word readings for 元古宙. 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.

name

(geology) the Proterozoic eon (part of the Precambrian supereon, spanning from 2.5 billion to 541 million years ago)

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

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