DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

簡牘

简简牍 · 繁簡牘

Mandarin · pinyin jiǎn dú

bamboo and wooden slips (used for writing on in ancient times)
letter; correspondence; book; document

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

簡: Look up this written character
牘: Look up this written character
简: jiǎn · simple, terse, succinct, a letter
牍: dú · writing tablet; documents, books

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–2 · jian3 du2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

簡牘 · find source passages ↗ · 简牍 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(historical, archaic) bamboo and wooden slips
(literary) document
(literary) letters; correspondence

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

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