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一唱三嘆

简一唱三叹 · 繁一唱三嘆

Mandarin · pinyin yī chàng sān tàn

(idiom) (of literature or music) concise yet deeply evocative; inviting repeated savoring

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
唱: chàng · sing, chant, call; ditty, song
三: sān · three
嘆: Look up this written character
叹: tàn · sigh, admire

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–4 · yi1 chang4 san1 tan4

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4character links1same-tone record

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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.

一唱三嘆 · find source passages ↗ · 一唱三叹 · find source passages ↗

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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.

noun

(music, literature) graceful and pleasant to the ear

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

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