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平鋪直敘

简平铺直叙 · 繁平鋪直敘

Mandarin · pinyin píng pū zhí xù

(idiom) (neutral) to narrate in a plain, unaffected manner; (mildly critical) to recount events in a flat, colorless style

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Characters in this entry

平: píng · flat, level, even; peaceful
鋪: Look up this written character
直: zhí · straight, erect, vertical
敘: Look up this written character
铺: pù · shop, store; place sleep, bed
叙: xù · express, state, relate, narrate

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–4 · ping2 pu1 zhi2 xu4

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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.

平鋪直敘 · find source passages ↗ · 平铺直叙 · find source passages ↗

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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 recount in a dull and flat style

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

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