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臥底

简卧底 · 繁臥底

Mandarin · pinyin wò dǐ

to hide (as an undercover agent)
an insider (in a gang of thieves)
a mole

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Characters in this entry

臥: Look up this written character
底: dǐ · bottom, underneath, underside
卧: wò · lie down; crouch

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · wo4 di3

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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.

臥底 · find source passages ↗ · 卧底 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngo6 dai2

Cantonese word readings for 臥底. 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.

verb

to work undercover; to engage in clandestine intelligence gathering; to act as a planted agent

noun

undercover agent; mole; plant; insider

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

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