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字眼

Mandarin · pinyin zì yǎn

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Characters in this entry

字: zì · letter, character, word
眼: yǎn · eye; eyelet, hole, opening

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · zi4 yan3

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 ngaan5

Cantonese word readings for 字眼. 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.

noun

words or expressions used to express a specific meaning; choice of words; wording
(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) reason; sense (usually in the negative)
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) trivial things; trifling matter
(Taiwanese Hokkien) idiomatic phrase

adj

(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) interesting; fascinating
(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) not knowing how to behave (describing surprise or discontent in a situation)

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

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