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三足鼎立

Mandarin · pinyin sān zú dǐng lì

(idiom) to form a tripartite balance of power

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
足: zú · foot; attain, satisfy, enough; Kangxi radical 156
鼎: dǐng · large, three-legged bronze caldron; Kangxi radical 206; hexagram ䷱
立: lì · stand; let stand; establish, set

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · san1 zu2 ding3 li4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 zuk1 ding2 laap6

Cantonese word readings for 三足鼎立. 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 be in a situation of tripartite confrontation

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

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