DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

分水嶺

简分水岭 · 繁分水嶺

Mandarin · pinyin fēn shuǐ lǐng

dividing range
drainage divide
(fig.) dividing line
watershed

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Characters in this entry

分: fēn · divide; small unit of time etc.
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
嶺: Look up this written character
岭: lǐng · mountain ridge, mountain peak

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–3 · fen1 shui3 ling3

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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.

分水嶺 · find source passages ↗ · 分水岭 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fan1 seoi2 ling5

Cantonese word readings for 分水嶺. 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.

noun

(geography) watershed; divide
(figurative) critical point marking a change in course or development; turning point; critical indicator

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

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