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磨

Mandarin · pinyin mó#

Mandarin · pinyin mò#

grindstone
to grind
to turn round

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磨: mó · grind; polish; rub; wear out; a millstone

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · mo2

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1character link33same-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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mo4 · mo6

Cantonese word readings for 磨. 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.

character · Etymology 1

to grind; to sharpen
to rub; to chafe
to wear away; to obliterate
to wear out; to wear down; to erode
to dawdle; to waste (time)
to pester; to plague (someone)

character · Etymology 2

grinder; mill
to grind; to mill
to turn around
(Cantonese) to waste time

character · Etymology 3

(Teochew) to approach

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

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