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嗇

简啬 · 繁嗇

Mandarin · pinyin sè

stingy

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嗇: Look up this written character
啬: sè · miserly, thrifty; stingy

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · se4

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1character link22same-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.

嗇 · find source passages ↗ · 啬 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sik1

Cantonese word readings for 嗇. 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

original form of 穡／穑 (sè) — to reap
original form of 穡／穑 (sè) — farming; farm labour

character · Etymology 2

(obsolete) to cherish
(obsolete) to save; to conserve; to not waste
miserly; thrifty; stingy
(obsolete) to covet
(obsolete) to lack; to be insufficient
(rare) to have a poor harvest
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) silent and not speaking; not disclosing anything
a surname

character · Etymology 3

(obsolete) alternative form of 濇 /涩 (sè, “not smooth; not flowing”)

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

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