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實事求是

简实事求是 · 繁實事求是

Mandarin · pinyin shí shì qiú shì

lit. to seek truth from facts (idiom)
fig. to be practical and realistic

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Characters in this entry

實: shí · real, true, solid, honest
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
求: qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
实: shí · real, true; honest, sincere

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–4 · shi2 shi4 qiu2 shi4

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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.

實事求是 · find source passages ↗ · 实事求是 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sat6 si6 kau4 si6

Cantonese word readings for 實事求是. 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) to seek truth from facts; to be practical and pragmatic

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

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