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自告奮勇

简自告奋勇 · 繁自告奮勇

Mandarin · pinyin zì gào fèn yǒng

to volunteer for
to offer to undertake

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
告: gào · tell, announce, inform; accuse
奮: Look up this written character
勇: yǒng · brave, courageous, fierce
奋: fèn · strive, exert effort; arouse

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–3 · zi4 gao4 fen4 yong3

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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.

自告奮勇 · find source passages ↗ · 自告奋勇 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 gou3 fan5 jung5

Cantonese word readings for 自告奮勇. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to offer to do something voluntarily and enthusiastically; to volunteer for

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

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