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別開生面

简别开生面 · 繁別開生面

Mandarin · pinyin bié kāi shēng miàn

to start sth new or original (idiom); to break a new path
to break fresh ground

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Characters in this entry

別: Look up this written character
開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
别: bié · separate, other; do not
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–1–4 · bie2 kai1 sheng1 mian4

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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.

別開生面 · find source passages ↗ · 别开生面 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bit6 hoi1 sang1 min6

Cantonese word readings for 別開生面. 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 forge a new path; to stand out from the rest

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

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