DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
拍板
Mandarin · pinyin pāi bǎn
Meanings
- wooden clappers (percussion instrument)
- to beat time with clappers (for a singer)
- (auctioneer's) board or gavel
- to slap the board to signal a sale; to bring down the gavel
- (fig.) to make a decision; to have the final say
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Mandarin tones
1–3 · pai1 ban3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
paak3 baan2
Cantonese word readings for 拍板. 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
- clapper made of two or more flat or slightly rounded pieces of hardwood or bamboo, used in various genres of traditional Chinese music, theater, and narrative
verb
- to beat time (with clappers)
- to bang the gavel
- (figuratively) to close a deal; to conclude a transaction
- (figuratively) to make a decision; to have the final say
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack