DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
夔
Mandarin · pinyin Kuí
Meanings
- one-legged mountain demon of Chinese mythology
- Chinese mythical figure who invented music and dancing
- Chinese rain god
- surname Kui
Characters in this entry
- 夔
- kuí · one-legged monster; walrus
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · Kui2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link31same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
kwai4
Cantonese word readings for 夔. 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
- (Chinese mythology) the Kui, a mythological one-legged creature or spirit, variously described as a dragon-like mountain spirit, a wood-and-stone demon, or a sea beast
- (rare) a wild ox; a large wild bovine; also written 犪 (kuí) or compared with 犩 (wéi)
- Kui, a legendary music minister under Emperor Shun
- (historical) Kui, an ancient state in present-day Zigui County, Hubei, destroyed by Chu in 634 BCE; also called 隗國／隗国 or 歸國／归国 (guīguó)
- (historical) Kui Prefecture, a historical prefecture centered around present-day Fengjie, Chongqing
- (literary, rare) reverent; respectful; standing respectfully
- a surname
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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