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泰然自若

Mandarin · pinyin tài rán zì ruò

cool and collected (idiom); showing no sign of nerves
perfectly composed

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Characters in this entry

泰: tài · great, exalted, superior; big; hexagram ䷊
然: rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
若: ruò · if, supposing, assuming; similar

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4 · tai4 ran2 zi4 ruo4

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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

taai3 jin4 zi6 joek6

Cantonese word readings for 泰然自若. 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) being calm and composed even under the most stubborn and difficult of situations

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

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