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塗炭

简涂炭 · 繁塗炭

Mandarin · pinyin tú tàn

extreme distress
in utter misery

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Characters in this entry

塗: Look up this written character
炭: tàn · charcoal; coal; carbon
涂: tú · surname; name of certain rivers

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · tu2 tan4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

塗炭 · find source passages ↗ · 涂炭 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tou4 taan3

Cantonese word readings for 塗炭. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun · Etymology 1

(literary) mire and charcoal ashes; (figurative) filthy place
(literary, figurative) harrowing situation; extreme distress; great affliction

verb · Etymology 1

(literary) to be in a harrowing situation; to be in great distress
(literary) to ravage or devastate such that one is in great distress

noun · Etymology 2

(Southern Min) coal
(Teochew) coal briquette

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

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