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捫心自問

简扪心自问 · 繁捫心自問

Mandarin · pinyin mén xīn zì wèn

to ask oneself honestly
to search in one's heart

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Characters in this entry

捫: Look up this written character
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
問: wèn · ask (about), inquire after
扪: mén · stoke, pat, feel by hand, grope
问: wèn · ask about, inquire after

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · men2 xin1 zi4 wen4

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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.

捫心自問 · find source passages ↗ · 扪心自问 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to reflect on oneself; to ask oneself honestly

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

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