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冥頑不靈

简冥顽不灵 · 繁冥頑不靈

Mandarin · pinyin míng wán bù líng

(idiom) pigheaded

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Characters in this entry

冥: míng · dark, gloomy, night; deep
頑: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
靈: Look up this written character
顽: wán · obstinate, stubborn; recalcitrant
灵: líng · spirit, soul; spiritual world

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–2 · ming2 wan2 bu4 ling2

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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.

冥頑不靈 · find source passages ↗ · 冥顽不灵 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming5 waan4 bat1 ling4

Cantonese word readings for 冥頑不靈. 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) obstinate and ignorant; stubborn and benighted

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

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