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前燕

Mandarin · pinyin Qián Yān

Former Yan of the Sixteen Kingdoms (337-370)

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前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
燕: yàn · swallow (bird); comfort, enjoy

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1 · Qian2 Yan1

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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.

name

Former Yan (337–370)

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

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