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始作俑者

Mandarin · pinyin shǐ zuò yǒng zhě

(lit.) the first person to make funerary figurines (idiom)
(fig.) the originator of an evil practice

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Characters in this entry

始: shǐ · begin, start; then, only then
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
俑: yǒng · wooden figure buried with dead
者: zhě · that which; he who; those who

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–3–3 · shi3 zuo4 yong3 zhe3

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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

ci2 zok3 jung2 ze2

Cantonese word readings for 始作俑者. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) the initiator of a bad practice; the creator of a bad precedent
(idiomatic) the person who started a bad or undesirable event

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

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