DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

客串

Mandarin · pinyin kè chuàn

to appear on stage in an amateur capacity
(of a professional) to make a guest appearance
(fig.) to assume a role outside one's usual duties; to substitute for

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

客: kè · guest, traveller; customer
串: chuàn · string; relatives; conspire

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4 · ke4 chuan4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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.

客串 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

haak3 cyun3

Cantonese word readings for 客串. 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.

verb

(of a professional) to give a guest performance; (of an amateur) to appear on stage in an amateur capacity; to cameo
(figurative) to substitute for (another person); to assume a role outside of one's usual duties

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

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