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三七二十一

Mandarin · pinyin sān qī èr shí yī

three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
the facts of the matter
the actual situation

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
七: qī · seven
二: èr · two; twice
十: shí · ten, tenth; complete; perfect
一: yī · one; a, an; alone

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2–1 · san1 qi1 er4 shi2 yi1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 cat1 ji6 sap6 jat1

Cantonese word readings for 三七二十一. 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

(figurative) (to not care about) the actual situation; facts of the matter

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

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