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夕陽西下

简夕阳西下 · 繁夕陽西下

Mandarin · pinyin xī yáng xī xià

the sun sets in the west (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

夕: xī · evening, night, dusk; slanted
陽: yáng · the active, male principle in Chinese philosophy (yang); light; sun
西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
阳: yáng · 'male' principle; light; sun

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · xi1 yang2 xi1 xia4

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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.

夕陽西下 · find source passages ↗ · 夕阳西下 · find source passages ↗

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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) when the sun sets in the west; at dusk

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

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