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水到渠成

Mandarin · pinyin shuǐ dào qú chéng

lit. where water flows, a canal is formed (idiom)
fig. when conditions are right, success will follow naturally

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Characters in this entry

水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
到: dào · go to, arrive, been to
渠: qú · ditch, canal, channel, gutter
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–2 · shui3 dao4 qu2 cheng2

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seoi2 dou3 keoi4 sing4

Cantonese word readings for 水到渠成. 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 achieve something without effort; effortless; something which comes naturally

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

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