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五體投地

简五体投地 · 繁五體投地

Mandarin · pinyin wǔ tǐ tóu dì

to prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb

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Characters in this entry

五: wǔ · five; surname
體: tǐ · body; group, class, body, unit
投: tóu · throw, cast, fling, pitch; jump
地: de · dì · earth; soil, ground; region
体: tǐ · body; group, class, body, unit; inferior

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2–4 · wu3 ti3 tou2 di4

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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.

五體投地 · find source passages ↗ · 五体投地 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ng5 tai2 tau4 dei6

Cantonese word readings for 五體投地. 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

(Buddhism) to prostrate oneself (as the highest form of worship)
(idiomatic) to prostrate oneself before someone in admiration; to admire with the utmost sincerity

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

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