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名存實亡

简名存实亡 · 繁名存實亡

Mandarin · pinyin míng cún shí wáng

the name remains, but the reality is gone (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

名: míng · name, rank, title, position
存: cún · exist, live, be; survive; remain
實: shí · real, true, solid, honest
亡: wáng · death, destroyed; lose, perish
实: shí · real, true; honest, sincere

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–2–2 · ming2 cun2 shi2 wang2

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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.

名存實亡 · find source passages ↗ · 名存实亡 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming4 cyun4 sat6 mong4

Cantonese word readings for 名存實亡. 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) to remain existing in name but no longer in reality; now nominal

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

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