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名正言順

简名正言顺 · 繁名正言順

Cantonese · source Jyutpingming4 zing3 jin4 seon6

(idiom) Get entitlement to

About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

ming44 · low fallingzing33 · mid leveljin44 · low fallingseon66 · low level

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

mingming1—ming2—ming3—明ming4bright 酩ming5drunk 命ming6

zing精zing1essence 整zing2exactly 正zing3straightzing4—zing5—静zing6still

jin烟jin1cigarette or pipe tobacco 演jin2to develop 宴jin3a feast 言jin4words 沇jin5现jin6to appear

seon询seon1to ask about 笋seon2bamboo shoot 信seon3letter 醇seon4alcohol 楯seon5顺seon6to obey

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

名正言順顺

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

名正言順 míng zhèng yán shùn CC-CEDICT · Mandarinin a way that justifies the use of the term; genuine; proper; in a way that conforms to logic; justifiable; appropriate; perfectly legitimate

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: ming2zheng4yan2shun4. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading