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心神不寧

简心神不宁 · 繁心神不寧

Mandarin · pinyin xīn shén bù níng

to feel ill at ease

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Characters in this entry

心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
神: shén · spirit, god, supernatural being
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
寧: Look up this written character
宁: níng · calm, peaceful, serene; healthy

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–2 · xin1 shen2 bu4 ning2

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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.

心神不寧 · find source passages ↗ · 心神不宁 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sam1 san4 bat1 ning4

Cantonese word readings for 心神不寧. 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 feel unsettled

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

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