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大道理

Mandarin · pinyin dà dào li

major principle
general truth
sermon (reproof)
bombastic talk

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Characters in this entry

大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
道: dào · path, road, street; method, way
理: lǐ · reason, logic; manage

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–5 · da4 dao4 li5

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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.

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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.

noun

major principle; general principle; great truth

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

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