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他山之石可以攻玉

Mandarin · pinyin tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù

lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively

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Characters in this entry

他: tā · other, another; he, she, it
山: shān · mountain, hill, peak
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
石: shí · stone, rock, mineral; Kangxi radical 112
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
攻: gōng · attack, assault; criticize
玉: yù · jade, precious stone, gem

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–1–2–3–3–1–4 · ta1 shan1 zhi1 shi2 ke3 yi3 gong1 yu4

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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

taa1 saan1 zi1 sek6 ho2 ji5 gung1 juk6

Cantonese word readings for 他山之石可以攻玉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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