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貓

简猫 · 繁貓

Mandarin · pinyin māo#

cat (Classifier: 隻 zhī)
(dialect) to hide oneself
(loanword) (coll.) modem

Mandarin · pinyin máo#

used in 貓腰 máo yāo

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Characters in this entry

貓: māo · cat
猫: māo · cat

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

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Mandarin tones

1 · mao1

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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.

貓 · find source passages ↗ · 猫 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 12 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maau1 · maau4 · miu4

Cantonese word readings for 貓. 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

cat (Classifier: 隻／只 m c)
(Mandarin, colloquial) to hide oneself
(Mandarin, colloquial) to hang around; to stay somewhere doing nothing
(Cantonese) to get drunk
(Hokkien) pockmarked (face)
(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Singapore Hokkien; Singapore Teochew) stingy; miserly
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) lecherous; lascivious
(Cantonese, no longer productive) person with a non-positive attribute

character · Etymology 2

(Mandarin, colloquial) to bend

character · Etymology 3

(Mainland China, colloquial) modem

character · Etymology 4

(Hokkien) wildcat
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) vicious woman; woman that suddenly turns hostile (just like a mother cat when her kittens are threatened)

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

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