DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
拜
Mandarin · pinyin bài
Meanings
- to bow to; to pay one's respects
- (bound form) to extend greetings (on a specific occasion)
- to make a courtesy call
- (bound form) (of a monarch) to appoint sb to (a position) by performing a ceremony
- to acknowledge sb as one's (master, godfather etc)
- (used before some verbs to indicate politeness)
Characters in this entry
- 拜
- bài · do obeisance, bow, kowtow
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4 · bai4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link8same-tone records
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 · 7 senses · 2 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
baai1 · baai3
Cantonese word readings for 拜. 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.
character
- to do obeisance; to bow; to kowtow
- to pray to; to worship
- to establish a relationship
- (polite) Used before a verb to show respect.
- (computing, informal) byte
- (informal) bye; goodbye
- (Malaysia, Singapore, Hakka, Min) day of the week (when used with a number)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack