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先見之明

简先见之明 · 繁先見之明

Mandarin · pinyin xiān jiàn zhī míng

foresight

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Characters in this entry

先: xiān · first, former, previous
見: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
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

1–4–1–2 · xian1 jian4 zhi1 ming2

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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.

先見之明 · find source passages ↗ · 先见之明 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sin1 gin3 zi1 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 先見之明. 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) prophetic vision; foresight; being ahead of one's time

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

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