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小三

Mandarin · pinyin xiǎo sān

mistress
the other woman (coll.)
grade 3 in elementary school

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Characters in this entry

小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
三: sān · three

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1 · xiao3 san1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

siu2 saam1

Cantonese word readings for 小三. 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 · Etymology 1

(colloquial, Mainland China) other woman or other man; someone romantically involved with a person already in a committed relationship; mistress

noun · Etymology 2

primary three; third year in primary school; third grade

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

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