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倒背如流

Mandarin · pinyin dào bèi rú liú

to know by heart (so well that you can recite it backwards)

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Characters in this entry

倒: dào · fall over; lie down; take turns
背: bèi · back; back side; behind; betray
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
流: liú · flow, circulate, drift; class

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · dao4 bei4 ru2 liu2

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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 Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dou3 bui6 jyu4 lau4

Cantonese word readings for 倒背如流. 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

(simile) to know backwards; to know inside and out

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

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