監

简 监 · 繁 監
Mandarin · pinyin jiān#

Meanings · jiān

  1. to supervise
  2. to inspect
  3. jail
  4. prison
Mandarin · pinyin jiàn#

Meanings · jiàn

  1. (bound form) supervisor; supervisory office (in imperial China)
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Characters in this entry

監
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监
jiān · supervise, control, direct
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · jian1

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1character link69same-tone records
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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.

監 · find source passages ↗ · 监 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaam1 · gaam3

Cantonese word readings for 監. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character

  1. to supervise; to oversee
  2. (historical) proctor; supervisor
  3. to control; to take charge; to direct
  4. (historical, of crown prince or senior statesman) to act for the monarch
  5. (historical) dukes or princes under an emperor
  6. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to imprison; to incarcerate
  7. prison; jail
  8. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to command; to lead
  9. (Cantonese) to force (somebody to do something)

character

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 鑒 /鉴 (jiàn, “mirror”)
  2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to reflect; to see; to view
  3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to use for reference; to draw lessons from
  4. (historical) supervisor; overseer
  5. (historical) imperial office
  6. (historical) eunuch

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

監 · jian1 · jian4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 77,580, 77,581
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records監 监 [jian1] /to supervise/to inspect/jail/prison/監 监 [jian4] /(bound form) supervisor; supervisory office (in imperial China)/