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乘風破浪

简乘风破浪 · 繁乘風破浪

Mandarin · pinyin chéng fēng pò làng

to brave the wind and the billows (idiom); to have high ambitions

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Characters in this entry

乘: chéng · ride, ascend; avail oneself of; numerary adjunct for vehicles
風: fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere; Kangxi radical 182
破: pò · break, ruin, destroy; rout
浪: làng · wave; wasteful, reckless
风: fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · cheng2 feng1 po4 lang4

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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.

乘風破浪 · find source passages ↗ · 乘风破浪 · find source passages ↗

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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 fearlessly and steadfastly pursue a goal without regard to setbacks

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

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