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受命於天

简受命于天 · 繁受命於天

Mandarin · pinyin shòu mìng yú tiān

to be emperor by the grace of heaven; to have the mandate of heaven

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Characters in this entry

受: shòu · receive, accept, get; bear, stand
命: mìng · life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction
於: yú · yū · in, at, on; interjection alas!
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
于: yú · in, on, at; go to; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · shou4 ming4 yu2 tian1

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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.

受命於天 · find source passages ↗ · 受命于天 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau6 ming6 jyu1 tin1

Cantonese word readings for 受命於天. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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