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自助餐

Mandarin · pinyin zì zhù cān

buffet
self-service meal

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
助: zhù · help, aid, assist
餐: cān · eat, dine; meal; food

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1 · zi4 zhu4 can1

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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

zi6 zo6 caan1

Cantonese word readings for 自助餐. 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

buffet (food)

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

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