瑟 缩

sè suōdictionary entry

to curl up shivering (from cold) / timid and trembling (in fear) / to shrink / to cower

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-8e125ff92a123557. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

瑟縮瑟缩 [se4 suo1] /to curl up shivering (from cold)/timid and trembling (in fear)/to shrink/to cower/

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: 瑟縮

瑟
sè
a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings
缩
suō
to withdraw / to pull back / to contract / to shrink / to reduce / abbreviation / also pr. [sù]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.