問候

简 问候 · 繁 問候
Mandarin · pinyin wèn hòu

Meanings

  1. to give one's respects
  2. to send a greeting
  3. (fig.) (coll.) to make offensive reference to (somebody dear to the person to whom one is speaking)
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Characters in this entry

問
wèn · ask (about), inquire after
候
hòu · wait; expect; visit; greet
问
wèn · ask about, inquire after
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · wen4 hou4

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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.

問候 · find source passages ↗ · 问候 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

man6 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 問候. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

  1. to send one's regards; to send one's respects; to greet; to ask how someone is; to show concern to someone
  2. (colloquial, euphemistic) to say offensive or vulgar words to someone; to swear at someone

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

問候 · wen4 hou4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 22,284
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record問候 问候 [wen4 hou4] /to give one's respects/to send a greeting/(fig.) (coll.) to make offensive reference to (somebody dear to the person to whom one is speaking)/