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尋花問柳

简寻花问柳 · 繁尋花問柳

Mandarin · pinyin xún huā wèn liǔ

lit. to enjoy the beautiful spring scenery (idiom)
fig. to frequent brothels
to sow one's wild oats

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Characters in this entry

尋: Look up this written character
花: huā · flower; blossoms
問: wèn · ask (about), inquire after
柳: liǔ · willow tree; pleasure; 24th lunar mansion, determinative star δ Hydrae
寻: xún · seek, search, look for; ancient
问: wèn · ask about, inquire after

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · xun2 hua1 wen4 liu3

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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.

尋花問柳 · find source passages ↗ · 寻花问柳 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cam4 faa1 man6 lau5

Cantonese word readings for 尋花問柳. 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 enjoy the beautiful spring scenery
(figurative) to visit prostitutes; to frequent brothels

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

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