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泰山北斗

Mandarin · pinyin Tài shān Běi dǒu

(lit.) Mount Tai and the Big Dipper (idiom)
(fig.) an outstanding figure in one's field

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Characters in this entry

泰: tài · great, exalted, superior; big; hexagram ䷊
山: shān · mountain, hill, peak
北: běi · north; northern; northward
斗: dòu · dǒu · a dipper; unit of volume (ten 升 or litres); Kangxi radical 68; 8th lunar mansion, determinative star φ Sagittarii

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–3 · Tai4 shan1 Bei3 dou3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taai3 saan1 bak1 dau2

Cantonese word readings for 泰山北斗. 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) eminent and accomplished figure in a field

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

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