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居心叵測

简居心叵测 · 繁居心叵測

Mandarin · pinyin jū xīn pǒ cè

harboring unfathomable motives (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

居: jū · live, dwell, reside, sit
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
叵: pǒ · cannot, be unable do, improbable; thereupon
測: Look up this written character
测: cè · measure, estimate, conjecture

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–4 · ju1 xin1 po3 ce4

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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.

居心叵測 · find source passages ↗ · 居心叵测 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

geoi1 sam1 po2 caak1

Cantonese word readings for 居心叵測. 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 harbor sinister intentions difficult to guess

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

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