| Word |
Components |
Pinyin |
Meanings |
|---|
| 是 |
日一龰 |
shì |
1. (literary) this; this thing |
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是日 - this day |
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2. (literary, archaic) a pronoun that refers the object of the verb, used in an inverted object/verb construction, usually paired with the particle (m, zh, 唯) in the form of m, zh, 唯 …… 是 + |
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3. 唯 馬 首 是 瞻 - to look at the horse's head |
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4. (copulative) to be |
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5. (indicating that the subject and object are the same.) |
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6. 泰晤士河 是 英國 第二 長 的 河流。 - The River Thames is the second longest river in the UK. |
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7. (indicating that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.) |
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8. 我 是 老師。 - I am a teacher. |
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9. 我 是 中國人。 - I am Chinese. |
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10. (indicating a place being occupied by the object, where the place forms the subject.) |
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11. 房子 前面 是 禾場cháng。 - The threshing floor is in front of the house. |
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12. 到處 都 是 - to be everywhere |
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13. (a particle emphasizing the word following it.) |
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我 是 昨天 買 的 票。 - It was yesterday when I bought the ticket. |
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我 買 票 是 在 昨天。 - It was yesterday when I bought the ticket. |
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14. (a particle showing agreement. In this meaning, 是 is stressed.) truly; indeed. |
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天氣 是 冷。 - It is indeed cold. |
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這 件 裙子zi 是 很 漂亮，但是 太 貴 了。 - Although this dress is truly beautiful, it's too expensive. |
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15. (a particle used in an alternative or a negative question) |
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你 是 喝茶 還是 喝 咖啡？ - Would you like coffee or tea? |
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16. (in affirmative answers) yes; right |
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你 是 張.三 嗎？是。 - Are you Zhang San? Yes. |
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是，長zhǎng官。 - Yes, sir. |
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是，明白 了。 - Yes, got it. |
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17. true; correct |
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不bú是 - fault; mistake; wrongdoing |
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你 說 得de 是 - What you said is right |
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各 行 其 是 - to have each going his own way, i.e., doing what he considers right |
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共 商 國是 - to discuss national affairs (This is a fossil word from Ancient Chinese where (och-l, 是) originally means "what is right (for the country)", i.e., "laws and policies") |
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18. usage. When translated as "to be", 是 is used only to link two nouns or nominal expressions. |
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我 是 老師 - I am a teacher |
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泰晤士河 是 英國 第二 長 的 河流。 - The River Thames is the second longest river in the UK. |
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19. usage. 是 is not used to link a noun and an adjective. The following sentence would be incorrect: |
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* 這 是 好 - * |
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20. usage. The correct sentence is |
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這 很 好 - This is (very) good |
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21. usage. Here, 很 is used as a filler to link a noun and an adjective and is not interpreted as "very". |
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22. usage. A way to use 是 with an adjective is to use tr=de after the adjective to turn it into a noun. |
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那 隻 貓 是 黑 的 - This cat is black (This cat is a black one) |
事 |
亅一口⺕ |
shì |
1. thing; matter | |
唔係 咩 大 件 事 - is not anything terribly important (lit. "is not any sort of large matter") |
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到底 係 咩 回 事 呀？ - What happened? / Exactly what is happening? (lit. "Exactly what matter is it?") |
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2. task; work; job; career |
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3. misfortune; mishap; accident; incident |
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惹事 - to cause trouble |
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你 冇事 就 好。 - I am glad to see that you are fine. |
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4. responsibility; involvement |
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這裡 沒 你 的 事。 - You have no business here. |
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唔 關 我 事 㗎 - It has nothing to do with me! |
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5. (dialectal Hakka, Min Bei, Min Zhong) speech; words; language |
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建甌事 - tr=Gṳ̿ing-é-dī, Jian'ou dialect, MB |
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6. (literary) to serve; to attend to someone |
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7. to be engaged in |
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不 事 生產 - to lead an idle life |
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8. (Beijing Mandarin, erhua-ed) fussy; pernickety; troublesome |
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他 這 人 特 事兒r。 - He is a very fussy person. |
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9. 27th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "duties" (?) |
| zì |
10. Alternative form of 倳 (to establish) |
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11. Alternative form of 剚 (to stab) |
上 |
卜一 |
shàng |
1. (music) Kunqu gongche notation for the note do (1). | |
2. (music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note do (1). |
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3. Variant of 緔 |
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4. Variant of 鞝 |
开 |
一廾 |
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1. Variant of 幵 | |
2. Simplified form of 開 |
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3. Variant of 亓 |
再 |
一冉 |
zài, dài |
1. again; once again; a second time; re- | |
再 玩 - play again - |
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一 拖 再 拖 - to put off again and again - |
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我 再 說 一 遍 - I will say once again. |
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後來 我 再 也 沒 見 過 他 了。 - Afterwards I have never seen him again. |
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2. (Used to indicate a continuing situation in conditional or suppositional clauses) |
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再 不 出發，我們 就 會 趕不上 火車 了。 - If we don't leave now, we're going to miss the train. |
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3. more; -er |
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再 快 一點 - faster |
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再 大聲seng1 啲 得 唔 得 呀？ - Louder please. |
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小 得de 不能 再 小 的 芝麻小事 - a trivial matter that cannot be more trivial |
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4. (Used with 也 and followed by a negative expression); no matter how...still (not) |
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你 再 努力 也 不會 成功。 - No matter how hard you work, you will not succeed. |
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有了 這 件 棉衣，再 冷 的 天 我 也 不 怕 了。 - |
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5. then; only then |
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我們 吃 過 飯 再 回去 吧。 - We shall eat before returning. |
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到時 再 算 |
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6. in addition; on top of that |
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7. (literary) twice |
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8. (literary) to appear again |
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青春 不再 - One’s youth never returns. - |
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9. usage. In Old Chinese, (och-l, 再) strictly meant "twice" and not "again". The "second time" sense developed around the Tang dynasty. |
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10. usage. 又 is used for something that already happened. |
大 |
一人 |
dà |
1. of great size; big; large; huge | |
(ant, zh, 小) |
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這 個 太 大 了！ (Zhè ge tài dà le!) - This is too big! |
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呢ni1 條 褲 好 大 條。 - This pair of pants is very big. |
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2. big; great |
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中 美 關係 已 有 很 大 改善。 (Zhōng Měi guānxì yǐ yǒu hěn dà gǎishàn.) - Relations between China and America have improved greatly. |
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大不列顛 (Dàbùlièdiān) - Great Britain |
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3. great of its kind |
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昨天 下 大雨。 (Zuótiān xià dàyǔ.) - There was heavy rain yesterday. |
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好 大 ? 味 - a very strong smell |
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4. in an extreme manner; greatly |
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大 哭 (dà kū) - to cry violently |
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大吃一驚 (dàchīyījīng) - to be greatly shocked |
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大 不 相同 (dà bù xiàngtóng) - to be greatly different |
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你 遇到 這 種 情況，大 可以 走人 哪na。 (Nǐ yùdào zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng, dà kěyǐ zǒurén na.) - If you come across this kind of situation, you absolutely can leave. |
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你 可 不 知道，他 昨兒r 過來lai 大 折zhē騰teng 了 一 場。好家伙huo，差chà點兒r.沒 把 這兒r 拆 嘍！ (Nǐ kě bù zhīdào, tā zuór guòlai dà zhēteng le yī chǎng. Hǎojiāhuo, chàdiǎnr méi bǎ zhèr chāi lou!) - You don't even know, yest |
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5. main; major |
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(ant, zh, 小) |
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他們 將 車 一直 開 到 大 門口。 (Tāmen jiāng chē yīzhí kāi dào dà ménkǒu.) - They drove right up to the main gate. |
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他 是 一家 石油 公司 的 大 股東。 (Tā shì yījiā shíyóu gōngsī de dà gǔdōng.) - He is a major stockholder in an oil company. |
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6. well-known; successful (only applied to some occupations) |
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大 書法家 (dà shūfǎjiā) - a well-known calligrapher |
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7. mature; grown up |
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(ant, zh, 小) |
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你 多 大 了？ (Nǐ duō dà le?) - How old are you? |
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她 比 他 大。 (Tā bǐ tā dà.) - She is older than him. |
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你 隻 狗 係 咁 大daai6-2 㗎 喇。 - Your dog isn't going to grow any older. |
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8. (Cantonese) to grow up |
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喺 廣州 大 - to grow up in Guangzhou |
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9. (Cantonese) to be older than |
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(ant, zh, 細) |
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我 大 佢 兩 年。 - I am older than them by two years. |
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10. (dialectal) father |
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11. (dialectal) father's elder or younger brother |
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12. (Cantonese, slang) to intimidate; to threaten |
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你 大 我 呀aa4？ - Are you trying to intimidate me? |
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你 咪mai5 大 我。 - Don't you threaten me. |
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13. (Cantonese) only so big |
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咁高咁大daai6-2 - gam3 gou1 gam3 daai6-2 - , C |
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14. (Cantonese, euphemistic) number two |
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我 好 急 呀，要 去 大。 - I'm very desperate and need to go number two. |
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15. Short for 大學 (gloss=university) Used only in the abbreviation of the name. |
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北大 (Běidà) - Peking University |
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16. 45th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "greatness" (?) |
| dài, dà |
17. (zh-used in, 大夫, doctor) |
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18. (zh-used in, 大王, tr=dàiwáng, (in operas, old novels, etc.) king; ringleader) |
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19. (zh-used, 大黃, rhubarb) |
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20. (zh-used in, 大城, tr=Dàichéng, Daicheng, Hebei) |
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21. Alternative form of 待 (to be about to; to intend to) |
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22. Alternative form of 代 (dynasty) |
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23. (Cantonese) small |
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咁 大daai6-1 - so puny |
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24. Variant of 太 |
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25. Variant of 泰 |
子 |
了一 |
zǐ |
1. (literary) child; offspring | |
2. son |
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獨生子 - dúshēngzǐ - only son |
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愛子 - àizǐ - beloved son |
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一 子 一 女 - yī zǐ yī nǚ - one son and one daughter |
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3. (literary) descendant; posterity |
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4. (Christianity) the Son |
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5. (in compounds) person |
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女子 (nǚzǐ) - female; woman |
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6. (literary) master; teacher |
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7. (literary) A respectful title for teachers, usually attached after their surnames. |
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孔子 (Kǒngzǐ) - Master Kong (Confucius) |
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老子 (Lǎozǐ) - Laozi |
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8. (literary, polite) you |
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9. Alternative form of 籽 (seed); also its second-round simplified form. |
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葵花子 (kuíhuāzǐ) - sunflower seed |
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10. egg |
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魚子 (yúzǐ) - caviar |
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11. young; tender; small |
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12. Prefix attached to nouns, denoting "a part of", "belonging to" or "individual". sub- |
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子目錄 (zǐmùlù) - subdirectory |
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13. (astrology) First earthly branch: rat in the Chinese zodiac, 11th solar month, midnight (11:00 pm to 1:00 am) |
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14. (historical) viscount (fourth of five ranks of Chinese aristocracy under the Zhou dynasty) |
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15. (physics, biology) -on |
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16. (Min Nan) grain-like object; particle; granule |
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17. (Min Nan, music) rhythm |
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18. (Min Nan) |
| zi |
19. Suffix: |
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20. Used to nominalize. |
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21. 瓶子zi - píngzi - bottle |
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22. 刷子zi - shuāzi - brush |
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23. 胖子zi - pàngzi - fat person |
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24. (colloquial) Used in some classifiers. |
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25. 一下子zi - yīxiàzi - all of a sudden |
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26. small, round object |
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算盤子jí (sǹg-pôaⁿ-jí) - abacus bead, MN |
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27. (Xiamen, Quanzhou) |
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28. (Zhangzhou, Taiwan) |
候 |
亻丨一矢 |
hòu |
1. to reconnoitre; to scout | |
2. to observe; to survey |
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3. to wait for; to await |
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4. to respectfully await |
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5. to visit; to send one's respects to |
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6. to wait on; to attend to; to take care of |
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7. to forecast; to predict (by divination) |
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8. (historical) scout; lookout; vanguard |
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9. (historical) Alternative form of 堠 (fortress) |
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10. (historical) official |
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11. (historical) posthouse; station |
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12. (historical) pentad (ancient time unit composed of five days) |
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13. climate; season |
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14. omen; sign; portent |
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15. (TCM) to examine (pulse) |
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16. (TCM) medical sign and symptom |
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17. (dialectal) to pay for (a bill) |
死 |
歹匕一夕匕 |
sǐ |
1. (intransitive) to die | |
必 死 無疑 - will die without a doubt |
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佢 兩 年 前 已經 死 咗。 - He already died two years ago. |
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高校 學生 食堂 吃 出 死 老鼠。 - A dead mouse was found in college cafeteria food. |
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食 死 自己 - to "eat oneself to death" (endanger oneself with eating habits) |
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你 噉樣 擺 會 跌 死人。 - Placing it so is a serious tripping hazard. |
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嗰 時 死 咗 唔 少 人。 - A number of people died at the time. |
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2. 死節 - to die for honour |
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3. inactive |
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死結 - encased knot |
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死機 - (of a computer system) to crash |
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路 被 垃圾 堵 死 了。 - The road is blocked by trash. |
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4. (only in compounds) deadly; fatal; killing; to the death |
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死刑 - capital punishment |
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死戰 - deadly battle; fight to the death |
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5. (colloquial or Min Nan) very; bloody; totally |
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我 累lèi 死 了。 - I'm dead tired. |
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嘈 死！ - Keep it down! (lit. You're being really noisy!) |
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熱 死 - tr=ruah8 si2, really hot, MN-T |
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6. (offensive) damned; damn |
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呢nei1個 死 阿伯 唔識 揸車。 - This damn geezer can't drive. |
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死 鬼佬 - goddamn white |
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做 咗 咁 死 多 次，我 仲 唔 識 做 咩？ - I've done it so darn many times already, and you think I wouldn't know how to do it by now? |
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7. (slang) to disappear; to go; (as in "where the hell did ... go") |
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嗰 枝 死人 原子筆 死 咗 去 邊 呀？ - Where's that goddamn pen? |
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你 這個 死人 死 到 哪裡 去 了，打 手機 也 不 接。 - Where the hell have you been? Why are you not answering my calls? (said by wife) |
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佢哋 今次 死 咗 去 邊 呀？ - Where'd they fuck off to this time? |
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死 返 屋企 - to fuck off back to one's home |
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8. (Cantonese, Min Nan) persistently; stubbornly |
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佢 死 都 唔 肯 講。 - He absolutely refuses to speak. (lit. He is persistently not willing to say it.) |
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呢ni1 份 工 佢 做 死 三十 年。 - He has been stubbornly doing this job for thirty years. |
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9. (Cantonese) screwed |
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做 又 死，唔 做 又 死 - screwed if I do, screwed if I don't |
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10. (Cantonese) awful |
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死囉lo3！ - Oh no! |
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11. (Min Nan) closely; firmly; tightly |
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12. usage. The adjective 死 ("dead, inactive, etc.") cannot be used as a predicative adjective. The sentence *這隻狗死 generally does not mean "This dog is dead". For the meaning "is dead", usually the verb 死 in the |
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這 隻 狗 死 了。 - This dog has died. |
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13. usage. The verb 死 ("to die") lacks a present meaning and denotes either past (in perfect aspect) or future (not in perfect aspect) events. It cannot be modified by the progressive aspect marker tr=zhe. |
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不死 - "will not die", immortal |
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沒 死 - "did not die", alive |
东 |
一小 |
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1. Simplified form of 東 |
下 |
一卜 |
xià |
1. (lower; inferior; located below) | |
(ant, zh, 上) |
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2. low position |
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3. 下層 (xiàcéng) - lower level |
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4. lower part of; under |
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5. 樹下 (shùxià) - under the tree |
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6. 樓下 (lóuxià) - downstairs |
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7. under the influence of; with |
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8. ::在 這些 條件 下 (zài zhèxiē tiáojiàn xià) - under these conditions |
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9. ::在 朋友 的 幫助 下 (zài péngyǒu de bāngzhù xià) - with help from friends |
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10. ::在 藥師 指導 下 (zài yàoshī zhǐdǎo xià) - under the instruction of a pharmacist |
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11. later; next |
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12. 下 個 世紀 (xià ge shìjì) - the next century |
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13. 下卷 (xiàjuǎn) - Volume II |
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14. (obsolete) inferior, poor |
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15. 下人 (xiàrén) - servant |
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16. 下品 (xiàpǐn) - inferior products |
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17. (Min Dong, Min Nan, Xiang) low (quantity or absolute position) |
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18. (Alternative form 低) (Min Nan) |
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19. (intransitive) (to go to a lower place) |
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(ant, zh, 上) |
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20. to go down; to descend (as complement) downwards; down |
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21. 你 快 下 來。 (Nǐ kuài xià lái.) - Come down here. |
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22. 下海 (xiàhǎi) - to go to sea |
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23. 下樓 (xiàlóu) - to go downstairs |
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24. 下山 (xiàshān) - to go down the mountain |
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25. 走下 (zǒuxià) - to walk down |
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26. 落下 (luòxià) - to fall down |
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27. 跳下 深淵 (tiàoxià shēnyuān) - to jump down to an abyss |
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28. (as complement) completely, thoroughly |
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29. ::拿下 (náxià) - to capture; to arrest |
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30. ::打下 基礎 (dǎxià jīchǔ) - to lay the foundation |
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31. to get out of; to leave; to alight; to get off |
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32. 下船 (xiàchuán) - to disembark from a boat |
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33. 下床 (xiàchuáng) - to get out of bed |
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34. to finish, to complete |
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35. ::下班 (xiàbān) - to get off work |
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36. ::下課 (xiàkè) - to finish class |
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37. (obsolete) to go to somewhere considered poor or inferior |
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38. 下鄉 (xiàxiāng) - to go to the countryside |
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39. 下館子 (xiàguǎnzǐ) - to go to the restaurant |
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40. 下野 (xiàyě) - to be forced to step down |
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41. (colloquial) Short for *下線 (to log out) |
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42. (to move something to a lower place) |
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43. (with limited objects, often figuratively) to put something down |
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44. 下筆 (xiàbǐ) - to start writing (lit., "to put the inkbrush down") |
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45. 下腳 (xiàjiǎo) - to have a small place to stand in (lit., "to put the feet down") |
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46. 下藥 (xiàyào) - to drug someone (lit., "to put the drug down") |
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47. 下榻 (xiàtà) - to stay the night (lit., "to put the bed down") |
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48. to put food into boiling water |
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49. ::下 麵條 (xià miàntiáo) - to put noodles into boiling water |
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50. ::下 餃子 (xià jiǎozǐ) - to put dumplings into boiling water |
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51. to rain or snow |
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52. ::下雪 (xiàxuě) - to snow |
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53. ::下雨 (xiàyǔ) - to rain |
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54. to give birth (as an animal) |
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55. ::下 豬仔zaǐ (xià zhūzaǐ) - to have piglets |
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56. ::下蛋 (xiàdàn) - to lay eggs |
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57. (colloquial) Short for *下載 (to download) |
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58. ::先 去 下 個 軟件。 (Xiān qù xià ge ruǎnjiàn.) - Download the software first. |
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59. to give or issue something to an inferior person |
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60. 下令 (xiàlìng) - to issue an order |
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61. to send an invitation |
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62. ::下 戰書 (xià zhànshū) - to send a letter of challenge |
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63. (obsolete) to conquer |
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64. 連 下 三 城 (lián xià sān chéng) - to achieve three goals successively (lit. "to conquer three forts successively") |
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65. (a short time) |
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66. (historical, obsolete) (synonym of zh, 點): an ancient unit of time, equal to 24 minutes |
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67. (colloquial) (as complement) Short for *一下 |
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68. (Alternative form 吓) (Cantonese) |
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69. for a short time; for one moment |
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70. ::等 下 (děng xià) - wait a moment |
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71. give something a go |
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72. ::看 下 (kàn xià) - take a look |
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73. ::睇 下haa5 - take a look |
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74. ::聞 下haa5 - try smelling it |
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75. (Classifier for the number of occurrences): time |
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76. 敲 三 下 門。 (Qiāo sān xià mén.) - Knock at the door three times. |
而 |
一丿冂丨丨 |
ér |
1. and (used to connect two clauses or adjectives) | |
偉大 而 艱巨 的 任務 - a great and arduous task |
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2. then (connecting two verbs or verb-phrases); and |
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3. and yet; but; nevertheless (conjunction indicating concession or contrast) |
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有 其 名 而 無 其實 - in name but not in reality |
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4. to (often used with (zh-m, *自)) |
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自上而下 - from top to bottom; top-down |
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5. (particle between adverbial element and verb to indicate cause, purpose, or manner) |
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半途而廢 - to give up halfway |
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不幸而言中zhòng - to make an accurate prediction despite its unfortunate nature |
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6. (particle between two verbs or verb phrases indicating that the first is used adverbially) |
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7. 不得其門而入 - to fail to understand (literally, "to be unable to enter by finding the gate") |
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8. (modal particle indicating hypothetical condition) |
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9. (modal particle indicating tendency or immediate action) |
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10. (literary) you; your |
车 |
一十 |
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1. Variant of 車 | |
2. Variant of 卓 |
