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蝸居

简蜗居 · 繁蝸居

Mandarin · pinyin wō jū

humble abode
to live (in a tiny, cramped space)

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Characters in this entry

蝸: Look up this written character
居: jū · live, dwell, reside, sit
蜗: wō · a snail, Eulota callizoma

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · wo1 ju1

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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 · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(figurative) house as small as a snail's shell
(humble) (my) humble abode

verb

(figurative) to live in a small room

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

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