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草根

Mandarin · pinyin cǎo gēn

grass roots (lit. and fig.)

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Characters in this entry

草: cǎo · grass, straw, thatch, herbs
根: gēn · root, base(d on); foundation

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1 · cao3 gen1

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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 · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cou2 gan1

Cantonese word readings for 草根. 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

(literally) grass root
(figurative) grass roots (people and society at the local (most basic) level)
(Harbin Mandarin) grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

adj

(attributive) grass-roots

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

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