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樹上開花

简树上开花 · 繁樹上開花

Mandarin · pinyin shù shàng kāi huā

to deck the tree with false blossoms
to make something of no value appear valuable (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

樹: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
花: huā · flower; blossoms
树: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–1 · shu4 shang4 kai1 hua1

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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.

樹上開花 · find source passages ↗ · 树上开花 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

syu6 soeng6 hoi1 faa1

Cantonese word readings for 樹上開花. 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 deck the tree with false blossoms; to make something of no value appear valuable

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

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