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歇後語

简歇后语 · 繁歇後語

Mandarin · pinyin xiē hòu yǔ

anapodoton (a saying in which the second part, uttered after a pause or totally left out, is the intended meaning of the allegory presented in the first part)

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Characters in this entry

歇: xiē · rest, stop, lodge
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
語: Look up this written character
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
语: yǔ · language, words; saying, expression

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3 · xie1 hou4 yu3

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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.

歇後語 · find source passages ↗ · 歇后语 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

kit3 hau6 jyu5

Cantonese word readings for 歇後語. 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

xiehouyu (An idiomatic two-part double pun. Part one is akin to a riddle, while part two is usually a double pun based on part one. The second part is often omitted. An example in English might be "make like a tree and leave.")

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

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