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慷慨

Mandarin · pinyin kāng kǎi

vehement; fervent
generous; magnanimous

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Characters in this entry

慷: kāng · ardent; generous, magnanimous
慨: kǎi · sigh, regret; generous

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3 · kang1 kai3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hong2 koi3

Cantonese word readings for 慷慨. 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.

adj

impassioned; vehement; fervent
forthright; expansive; frank and straightforward
generous; beneficent

verb

(Classical) to sigh (with regret); to lament; to exclaim

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

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