DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一心二用

Mandarin · pinyin yī xīn èr yòng

to do two things at once (idiom)
to multitask
to divide one's attention

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
二: èr · two; twice
用: yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · yi1 xin1 er4 yong4

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 sam1 ji6 jung6

Cantonese word readings for 一心二用. 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) to divide one's attention; to multitask

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

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