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縮頭烏龜

简缩头乌龟 · 繁縮頭烏龜

Mandarin · pinyin suō tóu wū guī

a turtle that pulls its head in
(fig.) coward
chicken

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Characters in this entry

縮: Look up this written character
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
烏: Look up this written character
龜: Look up this written character
缩: suō · contract, draw in, reduce
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
乌: wū · crow, rook, raven; black, dark
龟: guī · turtle or tortoise; cuckold

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–1–1 · suo1 tou2 wu1 gui1

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

suk1 tau4 wu1 gwai1

Cantonese word readings for 縮頭烏龜. 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

(figurative) cowardly person; coward; ostrich

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

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