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斷層

简断层 · 繁斷層

Mandarin · pinyin duàn céng

(geology) fault (Classifier: 道 dào)
(fig.) gap; rupture (in the transmission of some skill)
(tomography) cross-sectional

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Characters in this entry

斷: Look up this written character
層: Look up this written character
断: duàn · sever, cut off; interrupt
层: céng · story, layer, floor, stratum

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · duan4 ceng2

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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.

斷層 · find source passages ↗ · 断层 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tyun5 cang4

Cantonese word readings for 斷層. 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.

verb

to break off into layers
(figurative) to have a discontinuity in the structure

noun

(geology) fault
(figurative) break in the continuity of personnel structure

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

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