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咩

Mandarin · pinyin miē

the bleating of sheep
final particle which transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise (Cantonese)

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咩: miē · the bleating of sheep; (Cant.) an interrogative particle

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

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Mandarin tones

1 · mie1

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1character link5same-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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

me1

Cantonese word readings for 咩. 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 · Etymology 1

(onomatopoeia) the bleating of a sheep: baa!

character · Etymology 2

(Cantonese) what
(Cantonese) which
(Cantonese) why; how come
(Cantonese) Used as a dummy subject or object when it can be deduced from context.

character · Etymology 3

(Cantonese, obsolete) A sentence-final particle used to make unbiased yes/no questions.
(Cantonese) A sentence-final particle used to make yes/no questions, often with a doubtful or surprising tone.
(Cantonese) A sentence-final particle used in yes/no rhetorical questions to express negation.

character · Etymology 4

(Teochew) A sentence-final particle used to make unbiased yes/no questions.

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

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