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首

Mandarin · pinyin shǒu

head
chief
first (occasion, thing etc)
classifier for poems, songs etc

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首: shǒu · head; first; leader, chief; a poem; Kangxi radical 185

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

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Mandarin tones

3 · shou3

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link9same-tone records

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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 · 9 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau2 · sau3

Cantonese word readings for 首. 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

(archaic, anatomy) head
chief; leader
start; beginning
first; best; highest
prime; prior; primary
side; direction
Classifier for songs and poems. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

character

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to report someone to the authorities; to plead guilty
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to face (a direction)

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

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