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未老先衰

Mandarin · pinyin wèi lǎo xiān shuāi

to age prematurely

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Characters in this entry

未: wèi · not yet; eighth earthly branch
老: lǎo · old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
先: xiān · first, former, previous
衰: shuāi · decline, falter, decrease; weaken

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–1 · wei4 lao3 xian1 shuai1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mei6 lou5 sin1 ceoi1

Cantonese word readings for 未老先衰. 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 decline in health before becoming old

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

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