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望而生畏

Mandarin · pinyin wàng ér shēng wèi

(idiom) to feel intimidated

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Characters in this entry

望: wàng · to look at, look forward; to hope, expect
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
畏: wèi · fear, dread, awe, reverence

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–4 · wang4 er2 sheng1 wei4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mong6 ji4 sang1 wai3

Cantonese word readings for 望而生畏. 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) to be terrified by the sight of someone or something

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

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