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獨斷

简独断 · 繁獨斷

Mandarin · pinyin dú duàn

to decide alone without consultation
arbitrary
dictatorial

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Characters in this entry

獨: Look up this written character
斷: Look up this written character
独: dú · alone, single, solitary, only
断: duàn · sever, cut off; interrupt

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · du2 duan4

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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.

獨斷 · find source passages ↗ · 独断 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

duk6 dyun6

Cantonese word readings for 獨斷. 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.

verb

to make decisions on one's own; to be arbitrary

adj

(attributive) arbitrary; authoritarian; dictatorial; dogmatic

name

Solitary Decisions (fragmentary text dated late Han era or later, attributed to Cai Yong)

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

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