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扛把子

Mandarin · pinyin káng bǎ zi

(argot) gang leader
(fig.) king; the best
also pr. kángbàzi

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Characters in this entry

扛: káng · carry on shoulders; lift
把: bǎ · hold, take; guard; regard as
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–5 · kang2 ba3 zi5

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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 · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

gang leader
(figurative) king; the best

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

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