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植物人

Mandarin · pinyin zhí wù rén

person in a vegetative state
human vegetable

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Characters in this entry

植: zhí · plant, trees, plants; grow
物: wù · thing, substance, creature
人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2 · zhi2 wu4 ren2

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zik6 mat6 jan4

Cantonese word readings for 植物人. 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

(medicine) person in a vegetative state; human vegetable; cabbage

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

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