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一目瞭然

简一目了然 · 繁一目瞭然

Mandarin · pinyin yī mù liǎo rán

obvious at a glance (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
目: mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109
瞭: liào · liǎo · bright, clear; clear-sighted
然: rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3–2 · yi1 mu4 liao3 ran2

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character 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.

一目瞭然 · find source passages ↗ · 一目了然 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 muk6 liu5 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 一目瞭然. 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) clear at first glance

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

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