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伸手不見五指

简伸手不见五指 · 繁伸手不見五指

Mandarin · pinyin shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ

pitch-dark (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

伸: shēn · extend, stretch out, open up; trust
手: shǒu · hand
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
見: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
五: wǔ · five; surname
指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
见: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4–4–3–3 · shen1 shou3 bu4 jian4 wu3 zhi3

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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.

伸手不見五指 · find source passages ↗ · 伸手不见五指 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

san1 sau2 bat1 gin3 ng5 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 伸手不見五指. 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

(idiomatic) pitch black; can't see your hand in front of you

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

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