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呦

Mandarin · pinyin yōu

Oh! (exclamation of dismay etc)
used in 呦呦 yōu yōu

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呦: yōu · the bleating of the deer

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

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Mandarin tones

1 · you1

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1character link17same-tone records1source reference

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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 · 2 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jaau1 · jau1

Cantonese word readings for 呦. 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

an expression of surprise or sudden awareness
(literary) sound of deer (only used in 呦呦 (yōuyōu))

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

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