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標新立異

简标新立异 · 繁標新立異

Mandarin · pinyin biāo xīn lì yì

to make a show of being original or unconventional (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

標: Look up this written character
新: xīn · new, recent, fresh, modern
立: lì · stand; let stand; establish, set
異: Look up this written character
标: biāo · mark, symbol, label, sign; stand the bole of a tree
异: yì · different, unusual, strange

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · biao1 xin1 li4 yi4

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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.

標新立異 · find source passages ↗ · 标新立异 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

biu1 san1 laap6 ji6

Cantonese word readings for 標新立異. 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 start something new just in order to be different; to be original

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack