孫子

简 孙子 · 繁 孫子
Mandarin · pinyin sūn zi#

Meanings · sūn zi

  1. grandson
  2. son's son
Mandarin · pinyin Sūn zǐ#

Meanings · Sūn zǐ

  1. Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu 孫武 Sūn Wǔ (c. 500 BC, dates of birth and death uncertain), general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (700-475 BC), believed to be the author of the “Art of War” 孫子兵法 Sūn zǐ Bīng fǎ, one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書 Wǔ jīng Qī shū
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Characters in this entry

孫
Look up this written character
子
zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
孙
sūn · grandchild, descendent; surname
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–5 · sun1 zi5

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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.

孫子 · find source passages ↗ · 孙子 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

syun1 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 孫子. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun · Etymology 1

  1. grandson (son's son)
  2. grandchild
  3. (dialectal Mandarin, derogatory, vulgar) bastard; good-for-nothing

adj · Etymology 1

  1. (Beijing Mandarin) timid; cowardly
  2. (Beijing Mandarin, of one's behaviour) disgusting; revolting

noun · Etymology 2

  1. (literary) posterity; descendants

name · Etymology 3

  1. Sun Tzu (military general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period, 544–496 BCE)
  2. The Art of War
  3. Sunzi, author of the mathematical treatise Sunzi Suanjing

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

孫子 · sun1 zi5 · Sun1 zi3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 31,669, 31,668
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records孫子 孙子 [sun1 zi5] /grandson/son's son/孫子 孙子 [Sun1 zi3] /Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu 孫武|孙武[Sun1 Wu3] (c. 500 BC, dates of birth and death uncertain), general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (700-475 BC), believed to be the author of the “Art of War” 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3], one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書|武经七书[Wu3 jing1 Qi1 shu1]/