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零聲母

简零声母 · 繁零聲母

Mandarin · pinyin líng shēng mǔ

(Chinese linguistics) zero initial (the initial of a syllable that does not begin with a consonant)

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Characters in this entry

零: líng · zero; fragment, fraction
聲: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
母: mǔ · mother; female elders; female
声: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3 · ling2 sheng1 mu3

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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.

零聲母 · find source passages ↗ · 零声母 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(linguistics) zero initial

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

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