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愛憎分明

简爱憎分明 · 繁愛憎分明

Mandarin · pinyin ài zēng fēn míng

to make a clear difference between what one likes and what one hates
to have well-defined likes and dislikes

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Characters in this entry

愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
憎: zēng · hate, detest, abhor; hatred
分: fēn · divide; small unit of time etc.
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–1–2 · ai4 zeng1 fen1 ming2

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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.

愛憎分明 · find source passages ↗ · 爱憎分明 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi3 zang1 fan1 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 愛憎分明. 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 be clear about what to love and what to hate

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

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