DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

夢溪筆談

简梦溪笔谈 · 繁夢溪筆談

Mandarin · pinyin Mèng Xī Bǐ tán

Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo 沈括 Shěn Kuò, book on various fields of knowledge, the first to describe the magnetic needle compass

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

夢: Look up this written character
溪: xī · mountain stream, creek
筆: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
梦: mèng · dream; visionary; wishful
笔: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–1–3–2 · Meng4 Xi1 Bi3 tan2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

夢溪筆談 · find source passages ↗ · 梦溪笔谈 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mung6 kai1 bat1 taam4

Cantonese word readings for 夢溪筆談. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

name

Dream Pool Essays (Song dynasty classic)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack