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水性楊花

简水性杨花 · 繁水性楊花

Mandarin · pinyin shuǐ xìng yáng huā

fickle (woman)

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Characters in this entry

水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
性: xìng · nature, character, sex
楊: Look up this written character
花: huā · flower; blossoms
杨: yáng · willow, poplar, aspen; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–1 · shui3 xing4 yang2 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.

水性楊花 · find source passages ↗ · 水性杨花 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seoi2 sing3 joeng4 faa1

Cantonese word readings for 水性楊花. 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

(of a woman) frivolous; fickle; lascivious

noun

An aquatic plant, Ottelia acuminata var. crispa, endemic to Southern China and consumed as food.

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

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