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拍案叫絕

简拍案叫绝 · 繁拍案叫絕

Mandarin · pinyin pāi àn jiào jué

lit. slap the table and shout with praise (idiom); fig. wonderful!
amazing!
great!

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Characters in this entry

拍: pāi · clap, tap, beat; beat or rhythm
案: àn · table, bench; legal case
叫: jiào · cry, shout; hail, greet, call
絕: Look up this written character
绝: jué · to cut, sever, break off, terminate

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–2 · pai1 an4 jiao4 jue2

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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.

拍案叫絕 · find source passages ↗ · 拍案叫绝 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

paak3 on3 giu3 zyut6

Cantonese word readings for 拍案叫絕. 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 astonished and greatly praise

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

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