DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一錘定音

简一锤定音 · 繁一錘定音

Mandarin · pinyin yī chuí dìng yīn

lit. to fix the tone with a single hammer blow
fig. to make the final decision

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
錘: Look up this written character
定: dìng · decide, settle, fix
音: yīn · sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation; Kangxi radical 180
锤: chuí · balance weight on scale; hammer

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–1 · yi1 chui2 ding4 yin1

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character 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.

一錘定音 · find source passages ↗ · 一锤定音 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 ceoi4 ding6 jam1

Cantonese word readings for 一錘定音. 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 give the final word

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

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