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平地起家

Mandarin · pinyin píng dì qǐ jiā

to start from scratch (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

平: píng · flat, level, even; peaceful
地: de · dì · earth; soil, ground; region
起: qǐ · rise, stand up; go up; begin
家: jiā · house, home, residence; family

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–3–1 · ping2 di4 qi3 jia1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ping4 dei6 hei2 gaa1

Cantonese word readings for 平地起家. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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