DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

星星之火，可以燎原

Mandarin · pinyin xīng xing zhī huǒ , kě yǐ liáo yuán

a single spark can start a huge blaze (idiom); an insignificant cause can have a massive effect

Characters in this entry

星: xīng · a star, planet; any point of light; 25th lunar mansion, determinative star α Hydrae (Alphard)
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
火: huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
燎: liáo · liǎo · to burn, set afire; to illuminate; a signal lamp
原: yuán · source, origin, beginning

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

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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

sing1 sing1 zi1 fo2 ，ho2 ji5 liu4 jyun4

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