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惺惺惜惺惺

Mandarin · pinyin xīng xīng xī xīng xīng

see 惺惺相惜 xīng xīng xiāng xī

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Characters in this entry

惺: xīng · intelligent, clever, astute
惜: xī · pity, regret, rue, begrudge

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–1–1–1 · xing1 xing1 xi1 xing1 xing1

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) people of intelligence and talent appreciate one another; like-minded people relate well to each other

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

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