zǒng lǐ yá mendictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
the Qing dynasty equivalent of the Foreign Office
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-25f43c67ff8c1309. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

總理衙門 总理衙门 [zong3 li3 ya2 men5] /the Qing dynasty equivalent of the Foreign Office/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 總理衙門

  • 总
    zǒng

    (bound form) general / overall / to sum up / in every case / always / invariably / anyway / after all / eventually / sooner or later / surely / (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zǒng jīng lǐ] or 總編|总编[zǒng biān] etc

  • 理
    lǐ

    texture / grain (of wood) / inner essence / intrinsic order / reason / logic / truth / science / natural science (esp. physics) / to manage / to pay attention to / to run (affairs) / to handle / to put in order / to tidy up

  • 衙
    yá

    office / yamen 衙門|衙门

    Yá

    surname Ya

  • 门
    mén

    gate / door / doorway / gateway / opening (CL:扇[shàn]) / valve / switch / other door-like or gate-like structure / way to do sth / knack / method / approach / family / household / lineage / (bound form) sect / school / faction (religious or academic) / (bound form) class / category / division / phylum / classifier for courses, fields of study, branches of technology, relatives by marriage, guns etc / (suffix) -gate (scandal)

    Mén

    surname Men

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.