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柳暗花明

Mandarin · pinyin liǔ àn huā míng

lit. the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light (idiom); at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope
light at the end of the tunnel

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Characters in this entry

柳: liǔ · willow tree; pleasure; 24th lunar mansion, determinative star δ Hydrae
暗: àn · dark; obscure; in secret, covert
花: huā · flower; blossoms
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–1–2 · liu3 an4 hua1 ming2

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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 · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lau5 am3 faa1 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 柳暗花明. 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) an enchanting sight in springtime
(idiomatic) at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope

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

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