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憔悴

Mandarin · pinyin qiáo cuì

wan and sallow
thin and pallid
haggard
(of plants) withered

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Characters in this entry

憔: qiáo · be worn-out, emaciated, haggard
悴: cuì · suffer, become emaciated, haggard

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · qiao2 cui4

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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 · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ciu4 seoi5 · ciu4 seoi6

Cantonese word readings for 憔悴. 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

(of person) wan and sallow; thin and pallid; haggard; emaciated
(of plants) withered; wilted
(literary, of person) weary; enervated

verb

(literary) to suffer; to experience hardship; to languish; to be worried

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

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