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開葷

简开荤 · 繁開葷

Mandarin · pinyin kāi hūn

to eat meat after having maintained a vegetarian diet
(fig.) to do sth as a novel experience

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Characters in this entry

開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
葷: Look up this written character
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
荤: hūn · meat diet; strong smelling

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · kai1 hun1

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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.

開葷 · find source passages ↗ · 开荤 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hoi1 fan1

Cantonese word readings for 開葷. 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.

verb

(chiefly religion) to break a vegetarian diet; (of a baby) to start eating meat
(figurative) to try out something novel; to experience a new thing

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack