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抑揚頓挫

简抑扬顿挫 · 繁抑揚頓挫

Mandarin · pinyin yì yáng dùn cuò

see 頓挫抑揚 dùn cuò yì yáng

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Characters in this entry

抑: yì · press down, repress; curb, hinder
揚: Look up this written character
頓: Look up this written character
挫: cuò · push down; chop down; grind
扬: yáng · scatter, spread; praise
顿: dùn · pause, stop; bow, kowtow; arrange

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4 · yi4 yang2 dun4 cuo4

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links1source reference

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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.

抑揚頓挫 · find source passages ↗ · 抑扬顿挫 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jik1 joeng4 deon6 co3

Cantonese word readings for 抑揚頓挫. 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) rising and falling in cadence; intonation; speaking in measured tones; (of speech) cadenced

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

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