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情有可原

Mandarin · pinyin qíng yǒu kě yuán

pardonable (of interruption, misunderstanding etc)

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Characters in this entry

情: qíng · feeling, sentiment, emotion
有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
原: yuán · source, origin, beginning

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–3–2 · qing2 you3 ke3 yuan2

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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

cing4 jau5 ho2 jyun4

Cantonese word readings for 情有可原. 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) excusable; pardonable; understandable

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

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