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明珠暗投

Mandarin · pinyin míng zhū àn tóu

to cast pearls before swine (idiom)
not to get proper recognition for one's talents

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Characters in this entry

明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
珠: zhū · precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl
暗: àn · dark; obscure; in secret, covert
投: tóu · throw, cast, fling, pitch; jump

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–2 · ming2 zhu1 an4 tou2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming4 zyu1 am3 tau4

Cantonese word readings for 明珠暗投. 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) the talented are neglected
(idiomatic) something valuable is not recognized

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

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