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讵 is the simplified form of traditional 詎, a phono-semantic compound used as an interrogative adverb meaning 'how,' 'unexpectedly,' or 'to what extent.' Its left component, the speech radical 讠 (derived from 言), places it in the semantic category of language and questioning. The right component 巨 (jù) serves as the phonetic, indicating the pronunciation without influencing the word's meaning. This character is largely confined to classical Chinese literature and formal writing, where it introduces rhetorical questions that convey surprise or challenge an assumption.
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