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星星之火

Mandarin · pinyin xīng xing zhī huǒ

a single spark (idiom); an insignificant cause can have a massive effect

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Characters in this entry

星: xīng · a star, planet; any point of light; 25th lunar mansion, determinative star α Hydrae (Alphard)
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
火: huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5–1–3 · xing1 xing5 zhi1 huo3

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sing1 sing1 zi1 fo2

Cantonese word readings for 星星之火. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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