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半桶水

Mandarin · pinyin bàn tǒng shuǐ

(coll.) (of one's skills, knowledge etc) limited
superficial
half-baked
sb with a smattering of knowledge (of sth)
dabbler

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Characters in this entry

半: bàn · half
桶: tǒng · pail, bucket, tub; cask, keg
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–3 · ban4 tong3 shui3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bun3 tung2 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 半桶水. 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

(colloquial) limited (of one's skills, knowledge, etc.)

noun

(colloquial) smatterer; amateur; dabbler

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

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