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本事

Mandarin · pinyin běn shì#

source material
original story

Mandarin · pinyin běn shi#

ability
skill

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Characters in this entry

本: běn · root, origin, source; basis
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4 · ben3 shi4

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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2character links2same-tone records

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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.

本事 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bun2 si6

Cantonese word readings for 本事. 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.

noun

original story; source material (of a literary work)
this matter

noun

skill; ability

adj

(Cantonese, Hong Kong Hakka, Zhongshan Min) capable

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

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