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指南

Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ nán

to guide
guidebook

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Characters in this entry

指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
南: nán · south; southern part; southward

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · zhi3 nan2

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi2 naam4

Cantonese word readings for 指南. 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

guide; guide book; directory
(obsolete) compass

name

(～村) Zhinan (a village in Wanquan, Honghu, Jingzhou, Hubei, China)

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

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