勢利

简 势利 · 繁 勢利
Mandarin · pinyin shì lì

Meanings

  1. snobbish
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Characters in this entry

勢
Look up this written character
利
lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
势
shì · power, force; tendency
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · shi4 li4

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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.

勢利 · find source passages ↗ · 势利 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sai3 lei6

Cantonese word readings for 勢利. 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.

adj

  1. acting snobbishly towards the poor and obsequiously towards the rich; behaving differently towards others based on their wealth (often being selfishly concerned with gaining advantages for oneself)

noun

  1. (literary) power and wealth

adj

  1. (literary, of circumstances) favourable

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

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