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應運而生

简应运而生 · 繁應運而生

Mandarin · pinyin yìng yùn ér shēng

to emerge to meet a historic destiny (idiom)
to arise at an opportune time
able to take advantage of an opportunity
to rise to the occasion

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Characters in this entry

應: yīng · should, ought to, must
運: Look up this written character
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
应: yīng · should, ought to, must
运: yùn · luck, fortune; ship, transport

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · ying4 yun4 er2 sheng1

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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.

應運而生 · find source passages ↗ · 应运而生 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jing3 wan6 ji4 sang1

Cantonese word readings for 應運而生. 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 come into being as the times demand

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

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