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三天兩頭

简三天两头 · 繁三天兩頭

Mandarin · pinyin sān tiān liǎng tóu

lit. twice every three days (idiom); practically every day
frequently

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–2 · san1 tian1 liang3 tou2

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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.

三天兩頭 · find source passages ↗ · 三天两头 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 tin1 loeng5 tau4

Cantonese word readings for 三天兩頭. 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) every two or three days; practically everyday

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

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