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四平八穩

简四平八稳 · 繁四平八穩

Mandarin · pinyin sì píng bā wěn

everything steady and stable (idiom); overcautious and unimaginary

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Characters in this entry

四: sì · four
平: píng · flat, level, even; peaceful
八: bā · eight; all around, all sides
穩: Look up this written character
稳: wěn · stable, firm, solid, steady

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–3 · si4 ping2 ba1 wen3

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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.

四平八穩 · find source passages ↗ · 四平八稳 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sei3 ping4 baat3 wan2

Cantonese word readings for 四平八穩. 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) very stable and steady; completely stable and safe

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

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