DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

管

Mandarin · pinyin guǎn#

to take care (of)
to control
to manage
to be in charge of
to look after
to run
to care about
tube
pipe
woodwind
classifier for tube-shaped objects
particle similar to 把 bǎ in 管...叫 constructions
writing brush
(coll.) to
towards

Mandarin · pinyin Guǎn#

surname Guan

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Characters in this entry

管: guǎn · pipe, tube, duct; woodwind music

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

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Mandarin tones

3 · guan3

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Connected dictionary

1character link15same-tone records1source reference

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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 · 21 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gun2

Cantonese word readings for 管. 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

(music) a cylindrical double-reed woodwind instrument made of bamboo or wood
(music, by extension) any wind instrument
(by extension) slender tubular hollow object; pipe; tube; duct; canal; valve; fistula
(literary) calligraphy brush; inkbrush
Classifier for tube-shaped objects.
to administer; to manage; to control; to be in charge
(abbreviation, alt-of) to administer; to manage; to control; to be in charge — short for 管內／管内 (guǎnnèi, “jurisdiction”)
to subject someone to discipline; to discipline
to concern oneself with; to interfere with
to be responsible for the provision of; to provide; to supply
to assure; to guarantee; to ensure; to keep
despite; regardless of; irrespective of
(colloquial) used in the pattern 管……叫…… (“to call (someone/something the name of)”), where 管 is followed by the entity that is being called a name
(dialectal, colloquial) indicates the object of an action: to
(Sichuanese) to be worth
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) measuring tool of half a sheng (升 (shēng))
a surname

character · Etymology 2

(Hokkien, Teochew) tube; pipe; short cylinder
(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) Classifier for tube; pipe.
(Teochew) ladle

character · Etymology 3

(Hokkien) used in 頷管／颔管, alternative form of 頷頸 /颔颈

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

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