星星之火,可以燎原

Mandarin · pinyin xīng xing zhī huǒ , kě yǐ liáo yuán

Meanings

  1. a single spark can start a huge blaze (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
可
kě · may, can, -able; possibly
以
yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
燎
liáo · liǎo · to burn, set afire; to illuminate; a signal lamp
原
yuán · source, origin, beginning
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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星星之火,可以燎原 · xing1 xing5 zhi1 huo3 , ke3 yi3 liao2 yuan2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 53,211
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record星星之火,可以燎原 星星之火,可以燎原 [xing1 xing5 zhi1 huo3 , ke3 yi3 liao2 yuan2] /a single spark can start a huge blaze (idiom); an insignificant cause can have a massive effect/