DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
寸
Mandarin · pinyin cùn
Meanings
- a unit of length
- inch
- thumb
Characters in this entry
- 寸
- cùn · inch; small, tiny; Kangxi radical 41
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4 · cun4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link2same-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 Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
cyun3
Cantonese word readings for 寸. 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 · Etymology 1
- (units of measure) A cun or Chinese inch, a traditional unit of length of about 3 cm. — (Mainland China) short for 市寸 (shìcùn)
- (units of measure) A cun or Chinese inch, a traditional unit of length of about 3 cm. — (Hong Kong) Legally defined as the tsun of 3.71475 cm.
- (informal) short for 英寸 (yīngcùn, “inch”)
- (figurative) very short or little
- (traditional Chinese medicine) cunkou pulse; radial artery pulse at the wrist
- (Mandarin, colloquial) coincidental; unbelievable; opportune
- a surname
character · Etymology 3
- (Cantonese) alternative form of 串
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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