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招搖

简招摇 · 繁招搖

Mandarin · pinyin zhāo yáo

to rock back and forth
(fig.) to act ostentatiously
to brag
to show off

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Characters in this entry

招: zhāo · beckon, summon; recruit, levy
搖: yáo · wag, swing, wave; shake; scull
摇: yáo · wag, swing, wave; shake; scull

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · zhao1 yao2

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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.

招搖 · find source passages ↗ · 招摇 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ziu1 jiu4

Cantonese word readings for 招搖. 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.

verb

to act ostentatiously; to show off; to draw attention to oneself

noun

(archaic) Osmanthus fragrans

name

(archaic) The name of a mythological mountain.
(Chinese astronomy) Eta Ursae Majoris
(Chinese astronomy) Big Dipper

adj

(literary, ideophonic) untroubled
(literary, ideophonic) waving

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

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