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西

Mandarin · pinyin xī#

west

Mandarin · pinyin Xī#

the West
abbr. for Spain 西班牙 Xī bān yá
Spanish

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西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146

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

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Mandarin tones

1 · xi1

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1character link169same-tone records

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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 · 10 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sai1

Cantonese word readings for 西. 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.

character · Etymology 1

west; western; occidental
(Cantonese, minced oath) euphemistic form of 閪 /𲈹 (hai¹)
(Buddhism) western paradise
Used in transcription.

character · Etymology 2

(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 西班牙 (Xībānyá, “Spain”)

character · Etymology 3

(Cantonese) spin (noun)
(Cantonese) to spin; to cause to spin
(Cantonese) carrying spin
(Cantonese) to deviate from a path due to some force
(Cantonese) to hit

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

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