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忐忑不安

Mandarin · pinyin tǎn tè bù ān

(idiom) anxious; in turmoil

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Characters in this entry

忐: tǎn · timorous; nervous
忑: tè · fearful; nervous; timid
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
安: ān · peaceful, tranquil, quiet

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–1 · tan3 te4 bu4 an1

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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

taan2 tik1 bat1 on1

Cantonese word readings for 忐忑不安. 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) nervous; uneasy

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

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