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面壁

Mandarin · pinyin miàn bì

to face the wall
to sit facing the wall in meditation (Buddhism)
(fig.) to devote oneself to study, work etc

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Characters in this entry

面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
壁: bì · partition wall; walls of a house; 14th lunar mansion, determinative star γ Pegasi (Algenib)

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · mian4 bi4

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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

(Buddhism) to sit facing the wall in meditation
(figurative, especially Buddhism) to study or work with undivided attention
(in general) to face the wall (especially as a punishment); to stand facing the wall (to self-reflect)

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

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