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半瓶水響叮噹

简半瓶水响叮当 · 繁半瓶水響叮噹

Mandarin · pinyin bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng

lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)
fig. empty vessels make the most noise
one who has a little knowledge likes to show off, but one who is truly knowledgeable is modest

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Characters in this entry

半: bàn · half
瓶: píng · jug, pitcher, vase, jar, bottle
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
響: Look up this written character
叮: dīng · exhort or enjoin repeatedly
噹: Look up this written character
响: xiǎng · make sound, make noise; sound
当: dāng · bear, accept, undertake; just

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–3–1–1 · ban4 ping2 shui3 xiang3 ding1 dang1

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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.

半瓶水響叮噹 · find source passages ↗ · 半瓶水响叮当 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bun3 ping4 seoi2 hoeng2 ding1 dong1

Cantonese word readings for 半瓶水響叮噹. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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