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怯聲怯氣

简怯声怯气 · 繁怯聲怯氣

Mandarin · pinyin qiè shēng qiè qì

to speak in a frightened voice that lacks courage (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

怯: qiè · lacking in courage, afraid
聲: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
氣: qì · air, gas, steam, vapor; spirit
声: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
气: qì · steam, vapor; Kangxi radical 84

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · qie4 sheng1 qie4 qi4

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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.

怯聲怯氣 · find source passages ↗ · 怯声怯气 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hip3 sing1 hip3 hei3

Cantonese word readings for 怯聲怯氣. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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