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弦外之音

Mandarin · pinyin xián wài zhī yīn

overtone (music)
(fig.) connotation
implied meaning

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Characters in this entry

弦: xián · string; hypotenuse, crescent
外: wài · out, outside, external; foreign
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
音: yīn · sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation; Kangxi radical 180

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–1 · xian2 wai4 zhi1 yin1

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 ngoi6 zi1 jam1

Cantonese word readings for 弦外之音. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

jin4 ngoi6 zi1 jam1

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

(idiomatic) unsaid meaning of one's words; unspoken implication

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

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