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味同嚼蠟

简味同嚼蜡 · 繁味同嚼蠟

Mandarin · pinyin wèi tóng jiáo là

lit. tastes as if one is chewing wax (idiom)
fig. tasteless; insipid

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Characters in this entry

味: wèi · taste, smell, odor; delicacy
同: tóng · same, similar; together with
嚼: jué · prattle, be glib
蠟: Look up this written character
蜡: là · wax; candle; waxy, glazed; maggot; (same as 䄍) meaning imperial harvest

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4 · wei4 tong2 jiao2 la4

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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.

味同嚼蠟 · find source passages ↗ · 味同嚼蜡 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mei6 tung4 zoek3 laap6

Cantonese word readings for 味同嚼蠟. 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) tastes as if one is chewing wax; insipid; tasteless

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

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