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一波三折

Mandarin · pinyin yī bō sān zhé

Meanings

  1. calligraphic flourish with many twists
  2. fig. many twists and turns
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Characters in this entry

一
yī · one; a, an; alone
波
bō · waves, breakers; undulations
三
sān · three
折
zhé · break off, snap; bend
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 一波三折 ↗Words written with 一 ↗Words written with 波 ↗Words written with 三 ↗Words written with 折 ↗

Mandarin tones

1–1–1–2 · yi1 bo1 san1 zhe2

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 bo1 saam1 zit3

Cantonese word readings for 一波三折. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

jat1 bo1 saam1 zit3

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

  1. (originally) calligraphic flourish with many twists
  2. (figurative) to be full of ups and downs; to have many twists and turns

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack