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垂危

Mandarin · pinyin chuí wēi

close to death
life-threatening (illness)

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Characters in this entry

垂: chuí · let down; suspend, hand; down
危: wēi · dangerous, precarious; high; 12th lunar mansion, determinative star α Aquarii (Sadalmelik)

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1 · chui2 wei1

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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 · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seoi4 ngai4

Cantonese word readings for 垂危. 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.

verb

to be critically ill; to be at one's last gasp
to be in great peril (of a nation)

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

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