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走狗

Mandarin · pinyin zǒu gǒu

hunting dog
hound
(fig.) running dog
lackey

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Characters in this entry

走: zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
狗: gǒu · dog, Canis familiaris

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · zou3 gou3

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zau2 gau2

Cantonese word readings for 走狗. 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

(literary) hunting dog; hound
(literary, historical) dog racing game in ancient times
(figurative, politics, derogatory) running dog; lackey; cat's paw; person subservient to counterrevolutionary or evil interests
(literary, humble) self-deprecating form of address for oneself; the servant me; I, the follower

verb

(literary) to make a dog run or hunt

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

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