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咫尺天涯

Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ chǐ tiān yá

so close, yet worlds apart (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

咫: zhǐ · foot measure of Zhou dynasty
尺: chǐ · Chinese measure approx. 'foot'
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
涯: yá · shore, bank, water's edge

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–2 · zhi3 chi3 tian1 ya2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi2 cek3 tin1 ngaai4

Cantonese word readings for 咫尺天涯. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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