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大意失荊州

简大意失荆州 · 繁大意失荊州

Mandarin · pinyin dà yi shī Jīng zhōu

lit. to lose Jingzhou due to carelessness (idiom)
fig. to suffer a major setback due to negligence

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Characters in this entry

大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think
失: shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
荊: Look up this written character
州: zhōu · administrative division, state
荆: jīng · thorns; brambles; my wife; cane

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

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Mandarin tones

4–5–1–1–1 · da4 yi5 shi1 Jing1 zhou1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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大意失荊州 · find source passages ↗ · 大意失荆州 · 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) to have a temporary lapse in judgement that results in a major defeat; make a bad call and lose the farm

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

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