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發明

简发明 · 繁發明

Mandarin · pinyin fā míng

to invent
an invention
Classifier: 個 gè

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Characters in this entry

發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · fa1 ming2

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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.

發明 · find source passages ↗ · 发明 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faat3 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 發明. 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

to invent
(literary) to expound
(literary) to show; to prove
(Classical) to enlighten; to inspire
(Korean Classical Chinese) to make excuses; to claim an alibi; to lie

noun

invention (Classifier: 個／个 m; 項／项 m)
(mythology) a kind of legendary bird from the east

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

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