DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

東兔西烏

简东兔西乌 · 繁東兔西烏

Mandarin · pinyin dōng tù xī wū

lit. the sun setting and the moon rising (idiom)
fig. the passage of time

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

東: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
兔: tù · rabbit, hare
西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146
烏: Look up this written character
东: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
乌: wū · crow, rook, raven; black, dark

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · dong1 tu4 xi1 wu1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

東兔西烏 · find source passages ↗ · 东兔西乌 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗