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千載難逢

简千载难逢 · 繁千載難逢

Mandarin · pinyin qiān zǎi nán féng

extremely rare (idiom)
once in a blue moon

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Characters in this entry

千: qiān · thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
載: Look up this written character
難: Look up this written character
逢: féng · come upon, happen meet; flatter
载: zài · load; carry; transport, convey
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2–2 · qian1 zai3 nan2 feng2

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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.

千載難逢 · find source passages ↗ · 千载难逢 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cin1 zoi2 naan4 fung4

Cantonese word readings for 千載難逢. 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) once in a blue moon; not occurring once in a thousand years

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

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