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布帛菽粟

Mandarin · pinyin bù bó shū sù

(lit.) cloth, silk, beans and grain (idiom)
(fig.) food and clothing; daily necessities

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Characters in this entry

布: bù · cotton cloth, textiles, linen
帛: bó · silks, fabrics; wealth, property
菽: shū · beans and peas, collectively
粟: sù · unhusked millet; grain

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–4 · bu4 bo2 shu1 su4

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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.

phrase

(synecdochic) food and clothing; daily necessities

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

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