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發語詞

简发语词 · 繁發語詞

Mandarin · pinyin fā yǔ cí

introductory particle (used at the beginning of a sentence or passage in Classical Chinese)

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Characters in this entry

發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
語: Look up this written character
詞: Look up this written character
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair
语: yǔ · language, words; saying, expression
词: cí · words; phrase, expression

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2 · fa1 yu3 ci2

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Connected dictionary

4character links1same-tone record

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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.

發語詞 · find source passages ↗ · 发语词 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faat3 jyu5 ci4

Cantonese word readings for 發語詞. 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

(grammar) sentence-initial particle (function word that indicates the start of an expression, chiefly in Classical Chinese)

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

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