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泛濫成災

简泛滥成灾 · 繁泛濫成災

Mandarin · pinyin fàn làn chéng zāi

lit. to flood (idiom)
fig. rampant
in plague proportions

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Characters in this entry

泛: fàn · to drift, float; careless, reckless
濫: Look up this written character
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
災: Look up this written character
滥: làn · flood, overflow; excessive
灾: zāi · calamity, disaster, catastrophe

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · fan4 lan4 cheng2 zai1

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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.

泛濫成災 · find source passages ↗ · 泛滥成灾 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faan3 laam6 sing4 zoi1

Cantonese word readings for 泛濫成災. 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 flood and cause disaster
(idiomatic) to run rampant; to run wild; to run amok

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

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