DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

斷弦

简断弦 · 繁斷弦

Mandarin · pinyin duàn xián

widowed
lit. broken string, cf 琴瑟 qín sè qin and se, two instruments epitomizing marital harmony

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

斷: Look up this written character
弦: xián · string; hypotenuse, crescent
断: duàn · sever, cut off; interrupt

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2 · duan4 xian2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links1source reference

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.

斷弦 · find source passages ↗ · 断弦 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dyun6 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 斷弦. 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.

noun

broken string (on a musical instrument)

verb

(literary, figuratively, of sound) to linger
(literary, figuratively) to become a widower; to lose one's wife

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

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