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了如指掌

Mandarin · pinyin liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng

to know sth like the back of one's hand (idiom)
to know (a person, a place etc) inside out

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Characters in this entry

了: le · to finish; particle of completed action
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
掌: zhǎng · palm of hand, sole of foot, paw

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–3–3 · liao3 ru2 zhi3 zhang3

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Connected dictionary

4character links1same-tone record

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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

liu5 jyu4 zi2 zoeng2

Cantonese word readings for 了如指掌. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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