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彈指一揮間

简弹指一挥间 · 繁彈指一揮間

Mandarin · pinyin tán zhǐ yī huī jiān

in a flash (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

彈: Look up this written character
指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
揮: Look up this written character
間: Look up this written character
弹: dàn · pellet, bullet, shot, shell
挥: huī · direct; wipe away; squander
间: jiān · midpoint, space; place, locality

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–1–1–1 · tan2 zhi3 yi1 hui1 jian1

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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.

彈指一揮間 · find source passages ↗ · 弹指一挥间 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taan4 zi2 jat1 fai1 gaan1

Cantonese word readings for 彈指一揮間. 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.

proverb

time flies

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

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