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心知肚明

Mandarin · pinyin xīn zhī dù míng

to be well aware

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Characters in this entry

心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
肚: dù · belly; abdomen; bowels
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2 · xin1 zhi1 du4 ming2

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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 zi1 tou5 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 心知肚明. 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 be well aware

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

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