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心不在焉

Mandarin · pinyin xīn bù zài yān

absent-minded
preoccupied
inattentive
with one's thoughts wandering

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Characters in this entry

心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
在: zài · be at, in, on; consist in, rest
焉: yān · thereupon, then; how? why? where?

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–1 · xin1 bu4 zai4 yan1

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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 Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sam1 bat1 zoi6 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 心不在焉. 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) absent-minded; absent-mindedly; preoccupied

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

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