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光明正大

Mandarin · pinyin guāng míng zhèng dà

(of a person) honorable; not devious
(of a behavior) fair and aboveboard; without tricks; openly
(of a situation) out in the open

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Characters in this entry

光: guāng · light, brilliant, shine; only
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
正: zhèng · right, proper, correct
大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · guang1 ming2 zheng4 da4

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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

gwong1 ming4 zing3 daai6

Cantonese word readings for 光明正大. 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) high-principled; open and aboveboard; just and honorable; frank and righteous; without artifice; fair and square

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

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