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一葉知秋

简一叶知秋 · 繁一葉知秋

Mandarin · pinyin yī yè zhī qiū

lit. the falling of one leaf heralds the coming of autumn (idiom)
fig. a small sign can indicate a great trend
a straw in the wind

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
葉: yè · leaf, petal; page of book; period
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
秋: qiū · autumn, fall; year
叶: yè · to harmonize, to rhyme; to unite; (borrowed for) leaf

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · yi1 ye4 zhi1 qiu1

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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.

一葉知秋 · find source passages ↗ · 一叶知秋 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 jip6 zi1 cau1

Cantonese word readings for 一葉知秋. 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 small sign can indicate a great trend

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

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