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回天乏術

简回天乏术 · 繁回天乏術

Mandarin · pinyin huí tiān fá shù

(idiom) nothing can be done to remedy the situation; beyond recovery

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Characters in this entry

回: huí · return, turn around; a time
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
乏: fá · lack; poor
術: Look up this written character
术: shù · art, skill, special feat; method, technique

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–4 · hui2 tian1 fa2 shu4

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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.

回天乏術 · find source passages ↗ · 回天乏术 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wui4 tin1 fat6 seot6

Cantonese word readings for 回天乏術. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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