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滅族

简灭族 · 繁滅族

Mandarin · pinyin miè zú

extermination of an entire family (ancient Chinese punishment)

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Characters in this entry

滅: Look up this written character
族: zú · a family clan, ethnic group, tribe
灭: miè · extinguish; wipe out, exterminate

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · mie4 zu2

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(of a family) to be exterminated (as a form of punishment in imperial China, and within the Sinosphere)
(archaic, intransitive) genocide

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

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