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叩

Mandarin · pinyin kòu

to knock
to kowtow

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叩: kòu · knock, ask; kowtow, bow

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · kou4

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1character link17same-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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

kau3

Cantonese word readings for 叩. 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

to knock; to strike
to kowtow; to bow
(literary) to enquire; to ask
(alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 扣 (kòu, “to hold; to restrain”)
a surname

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

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