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小辮子

简小辫子 · 繁小辮子

Mandarin · pinyin xiǎo biàn zi

pigtail
(fig.) a shortcoming or evidence of wrongdoing that can be seized upon by others

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Characters in this entry

小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
辮: Look up this written character
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
辫: biàn · braid; pigtail, plait, queue

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–5 · xiao3 bian4 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.

小辮子 · find source passages ↗ · 小辫子 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

short braid; pigtail
(figurative) a shortcoming, or evidence of wrongdoing, that can be seized upon by others

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

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