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一步登天

Mandarin · pinyin yī bù dēng tiān

reaching heaven in a single bound (idiom); (esp. with negative: don't expect) instant success

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll
登: dēng · rise, mount, board, climb
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · yi1 bu4 deng1 tian1

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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 bou6 dang1 tin1

Cantonese word readings for 一步登天. 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 advance to a high position easily; to achieve instant success

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

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