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中看不中用

Mandarin · pinyin zhōng kàn bù zhōng yòng

impressive-looking but useless

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Characters in this entry

中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
看: kàn · look, see; examine, scrutinize
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
用: yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–1–4 · zhong1 kan4 bu4 zhong1 yong4

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zung1 hon3 bat1 zung1 jung6

Cantonese word readings for 中看不中用. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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