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三長兩短

简三长两短 · 繁三長兩短

Mandarin · pinyin sān cháng liǎng duǎn

unexpected misfortune
unexpected accident
sudden death

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
長: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader; Kangxi radical 168
兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
短: duǎn · short; brief; deficient, lacking
长: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · san1 chang2 liang3 duan3

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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.

三長兩短 · find source passages ↗ · 三长两短 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 coeng4 loeng5 dyun2

Cantonese word readings for 三長兩短. 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) unexpected misfortune; unexpected accident; sudden death

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

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