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一字褒貶

简一字褒贬 · 繁一字褒貶

Mandarin · pinyin yī zì bāo biǎn

(lit.) to dispense praise or blame with a single word (idiom)
(fig.) concise and powerful wording

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
字: zì · letter, character, word
褒: bāo · praise, commend, honor, cite
貶: Look up this written character
贬: biǎn · decrease, lower; censure, criticize

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–3 · yi1 zi4 bao1 bian3

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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.

一字褒貶 · find source passages ↗ · 一字褒贬 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 zi6 bou1 bin2

Cantonese word readings for 一字褒貶. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) a concise and deliberate choice of words

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

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