侯門似海

简 侯门似海 · 繁 侯門似海
Mandarin · pinyin hóu mén sì hǎi

Meanings

  1. (lit.) the gate of a noble house is like the sea (idiom)
  2. (fig.) there is a wide gap between the nobility and the common people
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Characters in this entry

侯
hóu · marquis, lord; target in archery
門
mén · gate, door, entrance, opening; Kangxi radical 169
似
sì · resemble, similar to; as if, seem
海
hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
门
mén · gate, door, entrance, opening
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–3 · hou2 men2 si4 hai3

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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.

侯門似海 · find source passages ↗ · 侯门似海 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hau4 mun4 ci5 hoi2

Cantonese word readings for 侯門似海. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

侯門似海 · hou2 men2 si4 hai3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 7,907
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record侯門似海 侯门似海 [hou2 men2 si4 hai3] /(lit.) the gate of a noble house is like the sea (idiom)/(fig.) there is a wide gap between the nobility and the common people/