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象形文字

Mandarin · pinyin xiàng xíng wén zì

pictogram
hieroglyph

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Characters in this entry

象: xiàng · elephant; ivory; figure, image
形: xíng · form, shape, appearance
文: wén · literature, culture, writing
字: zì · letter, character, word

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4 · xiang4 xing2 wen2 zi4

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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

zoeng6 jing4 man4 zi6

Cantonese word readings for 象形文字. 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

hieroglyph, pictograph

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

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