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如臨深淵

简 如临深渊 · 繁 如臨深淵
Mandarin · pinyin rú lín shēn yuān

Meanings

  1. (lit.) as if on the brink of a deep abyss (idiom)
  2. (fig.) extremely cautious
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Characters in this entry

如
rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
臨
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深
shēn · deep; depth; far; very, extreme
淵
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临
lín · draw near, approach; descend
渊
yuān · surge up, bubble up, gush forth
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 如臨深淵 ↗Words written with 如 ↗Words written with 臨 ↗Words written with 深 ↗Words written with 淵 ↗Words written with 临 ↗Words written with 渊 ↗

Mandarin tones

2–2–1–1 · ru2 lin2 shen1 yuan1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (simile) to be extremely cautious

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

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

如臨深淵 · ru2 lin2 shen1 yuan1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 30,275
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record如臨深淵 如临深渊 [ru2 lin2 shen1 yuan1] /(lit.) as if on the brink of a deep abyss (idiom)/(fig.) extremely cautious/