招牌

Mandarin · pinyin zhāo pai

Meanings

  1. signboard
  2. shop sign
  3. reputation of a business
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Characters in this entry

招
zhāo · beckon, summon; recruit, levy
牌
pái · signboard, placard
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–5 · zhao1 pai5

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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

ziu1 paai4

Cantonese word readings for 招牌. 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

  1. signboard; shop sign
  2. reputation of a business, company or product
  3. trademark; copyright; feature; label; signature
  4. (figurative, derogatory) pretence; (in the) name (of)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack