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呒, the simplified form of traditional 嘸, is a phono-semantic compound combining the mouth radical 口 on the left with 无 (traditional 無, pronounced wú) on the right, which provides both its sound and the meaning of absence. This dialectal character, prominent in Wu Chinese and other southern varieties, denotes lacking, not having, or the negative particle "no". It also functions as a sentence-initial interjection expressing surprise, astonishment, or realization. Because its usage is closely tied to specific spoken dialects rather than standard Mandarin, it primarily serves to transcribe regional speech patterns into writing.
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