天網恢恢
简 天网恢恢 · 繁 天網恢恢Meanings
- lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73)
- fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape
- you can't run from the long arm of the law
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Mandarin tones
1–3–1–1 · tian1 wang3 hui1 hui1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
天網恢恢 · find source passages ↗ · 天网恢恢 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
tin1 mong5 fui1 fui1
Cantonese word readings for 天網恢恢. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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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) natural law
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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