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鼎足

Mandarin · pinyin dǐng zú

lit. the three legs of a tripod
fig. three competing rivals

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Characters in this entry

鼎: dǐng · large, three-legged bronze caldron; Kangxi radical 206; hexagram ䷱
足: zú · foot; attain, satisfy, enough; Kangxi radical 156

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · ding3 zu2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(literary) three legs of a tripod
(literary) three rival powers
(literary) triumvirate (of forces)

adj

(literary, attributive) tripartite (of forces)

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

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