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爛尾

简烂尾 · 繁爛尾

Mandarin · pinyin làn wěi

(of a construction project etc) unfinished; derailed (due to critical setbacks)

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Characters in this entry

爛: Look up this written character
尾: wěi · tail, extremity; end, stern; 6th lunar mansion, determinative star μ¹ Scorpii (Xamidimura)
烂: làn · rotten, spoiled, decayed

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · lan4 wei3

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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.

爛尾 · find source passages ↗ · 烂尾 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

laan6 mei5

Cantonese word readings for 爛尾. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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.

verb

(of a project, etc.) to be unable to be completed (due to rashness in decision making, shortage in money, poor management, etc.)

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

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