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正中要害

Mandarin · pinyin zhèng zhòng yào hài

to hit the nail on the head (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

正: zhèng · right, proper, correct
中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
要: yào · necessary, essential; necessity
害: hài · injure, harm; destroy, kill

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–4 · zheng4 zhong4 yao4 hai4

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zing3 zung3 jiu3 hoi6

Cantonese word readings for 正中要害. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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