春江水暖鴨先知
简 春江水暖鸭先知 · 繁 春江水暖鴨先知Meanings
- lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
- fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
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Mandarin tones
1–1–3–3–1–1–1 · chun1 jiang1 shui3 nuan3 ya1 xian1 zhi1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
春江水暖鴨先知 · find source passages ↗ · 春江水暖鸭先知 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
ceon1 gong1 seoi2 nyun5 aap3 sin1 zi1
Cantonese word readings for 春江水暖鴨先知. 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.
proverb
- Professionals within an industry or profession will be the first to notice a change in circumstances.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack