旦

Mandarin · pinyin dàn

Meanings

  1. (literary) dawn; daybreak
  2. dan, female role in Chinese opera (traditionally played by specialized male actors)
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

旦
dàn · dawn; morning; day
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4 · dan4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link42same-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.

旦 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daan2 · daan3 · daan6

Cantonese word readings for 旦. 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

  1. (literary) early morning; dawn
  2. (literary) day
  3. first day of a lunar month

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Chinese opera) female character, particularly a lead role, in a traditional Chinese opera
  2. (Chinese opera) actor or actress known for playing such characters

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

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