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妙在不言中

Mandarin · pinyin miào zài bù yán zhōng

the charm lies in what is left unsaid (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

妙: miào · mysterious, subtle; exquisite
在: zài · be at, in, on; consist in, rest
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–2–1 · miao4 zai4 bu4 yan2 zhong1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

miu6 zoi6 bat1 jin4 zung1

Cantonese word readings for 妙在不言中. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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