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別樹一幟

简别树一帜 · 繁別樹一幟

Mandarin · pinyin bié shù yī zhì

lit. to fly one's banner on a solitary tree (idiom); fig. to act as a loner
to stand out
to develop one's own school
to have attitude of one's own

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Characters in this entry

別: Look up this written character
樹: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
幟: Look up this written character
别: bié · separate, other; do not
树: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish
帜: zhì · flag, pennant; sign; fasten

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–4 · bie2 shu4 yi1 zhi4

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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.

別樹一幟 · find source passages ↗ · 别树一帜 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bit6 syu6 jat1 ci3

Cantonese word readings for 別樹一幟. 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) to have a distinct style of one's own

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

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