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逗

Mandarin · pinyin dòu

to tease (playfully); to entice
(coll.) to joke
(coll.) funny; amusing
to stay; to sojourn
brief pause at the end of a phrase (variant of 讀 dòu)

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Characters in this entry

逗: dòu · tempt, allure, arouse, stir

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · dou4

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1character link19same-tone records1source reference

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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 · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dau6

Cantonese word readings for 逗. 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

to amuse; to tease
funny; ridiculous; amusing
to tempt; to allure
(chiefly in the negative) to play around
to stay; to remain; to stop
(alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 讀 /读 (dòu, “short pause in reading; part of a sentence; clause”)

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

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