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時來運轉

简时来运转 · 繁時來運轉

Mandarin · pinyin shí lái yùn zhuǎn

the time comes, fortune turns (idiom); to have a lucky break
things change for the better

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Characters in this entry

時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
運: Look up this written character
轉: Look up this written character
时: shí · time, season; era, age, period
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning
运: yùn · luck, fortune; ship, transport
转: zhuǎn · shift, move, turn

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–3 · shi2 lai2 yun4 zhuan3

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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.

時來運轉 · find source passages ↗ · 时来运转 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si4 loi4 wan6 zyun3

Cantonese word readings for 時來運轉. 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) one's luck improves at the right time

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

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