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丁艱

简丁艰 · 繁丁艱

Mandarin · pinyin dīng jiān

(literary) to be in mourning after the death of a parent

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Characters in this entry

丁: dīng · male adult; robust, vigorous; 4th heavenly stem
艱: Look up this written character
艰: jiān · difficult, hard; distressing

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · ding1 jian1

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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.

verb

(literary) synonym of 丁憂 /丁忧 (dīngyōu, “to mourn the passing of one's parents”)

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

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