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災星

简灾星 · 繁災星

Mandarin · pinyin zāi xīng

comet or supernova viewed as evil portent
(fig.) sb or sth that brings disaster

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Characters in this entry

災: Look up this written character
星: xīng · a star, planet; any point of light; 25th lunar mansion, determinative star α Hydrae (Alphard)
灾: zāi · calamity, disaster, catastrophe

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · zai1 xing1

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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.

災星 · find source passages ↗ · 灾星 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(literary, literally) astronomical sign of impending doom
(literary, figuratively) person or thing that brings disaster

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

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