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一身兩役

简一身两役 · 繁一身兩役

Mandarin · pinyin yī shēn liǎng yì

one person taking on two tasks simultaneously

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
役: yì · service; a servant, laborer; to serve
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–4 · yi1 shen1 liang3 yi4

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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.

一身兩役 · find source passages ↗ · 一身两役 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 san1 loeng5 jik6

Cantonese word readings for 一身兩役. 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 hold two jobs at the same time; to serve in a dual capacity

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

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