普

Mandarin · pinyin pǔ

Meanings

  1. general
  2. popular
  3. everywhere
  4. universal
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Characters in this entry

普
pǔ · universal, general, widespread
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · pu3

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1character link23same-tone records
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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pou2

Cantonese word readings for 普. 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

  1. (obsolete, of sun) lustreless
  2. universal; general; widespread
  3. wide; vast
  4. (obsolete, Tibet) adult man
  5. (abbreviation, alt-of) short for 普通話/普通话 (pǔtōnghuà, “Putonghua”)
  6. Used in transcription.
  7. Used in transcription. — short for 普魯士/普鲁士 (Pǔlǔshì):
  8. Used in transcription. — (chiefly historical) Prussia (a geographical area on the Baltic coast of Northeast Europe)
  9. Used in transcription. — (historical) Prussia (a former duchy, kingdom and (after German unification in 1871) a federal state of Germany, existing from 1525 to 1947, mostly in areas now part of Germany, Poland and Russia)
  10. (abbreviation, alt-of) Used in transcription. — short for 普洱茶 (pǔ'ěrchá, “pu'er tea”)
  11. a surname

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

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