DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

挽

Mandarin · pinyin wǎn

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

挽: wǎn · pull; pull back, draw back

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · wan3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link36same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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.

挽 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

waan5

Cantonese word readings for 挽. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

to pull
to pull back; to draw back
(alt. form 輓／挽) to grieve; to mourn; to lament (a person's death)
to save (damages, reputation, lost fortune, etc.); to recover; to reverse
(alt. form 綰／绾) to roll up; to coil
(Hokkien) to pluck; to pick; to pull out; to pull up
(Hokkien) to twist; to bend; to swing (one's body)
(Hokkien) to hold back; to hold down; to grab; to restrain
(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Philippine Hokkien) to pull a muscle; to sprain; to overstrain (e.g. the ankle, wrist, tendon, lumbar vertebrae, etc.)
(Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to be sulkingly obstinate
(Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to endure; to persist; to put up with (an illness, injury, etc.)
(Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to economize; to cut back; to moderate oneself; to limit oneself; to temper oneself
(Taiwanese Hokkien) to pull through

character · Etymology 3

(Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang, leetspeak) alternative form of 玩 (waan4-2)

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

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