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半條命

简半条命 · 繁半條命

Mandarin · pinyin bàn tiáo mìng

half a life
only half alive
barely alive
(scared, beaten etc) half to death

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Characters in this entry

半: bàn · half
條: tiáo · clause, condition; string, stripe
命: mìng · life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction
条: tiáo · clause, condition; string, stripe

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4 · ban4 tiao2 ming4

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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.

半條命 · find source passages ↗ · 半条命 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bun3 tiu4 meng6

Cantonese word readings for 半條命. 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.

adv

(Hokkien) used as a verbal or adjectival complement emphasising the severity of an action or a state

adj

(Hokkien) half-dead; more dead than alive

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

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