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子丑寅卯

Mandarin · pinyin zǐ chǒu yín mǎo

(idiom) a full and coherent account of a matter; the complete facts of the case; the whole story

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Characters in this entry

子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
丑: chǒu · clown, comedian; second earthly branch
寅: yín · to respect, reverence; respectfully; third earthly branch
卯: mǎo · fourth earthly branch

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2–3 · zi3 chou3 yin2 mao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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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

(literally) zi, chou, yin and mao (the first four earthly branches)
(figurative) underlying reasons or logic; main threads (of a complicated affair)

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

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