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浩如煙海

简浩如烟海 · 繁浩如煙海

Mandarin · pinyin hào rú yān hǎi

vast as the open sea (idiom); fig. extensive (library)

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Characters in this entry

浩: hào · great, numerous, vast, abundant
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
煙: Look up this written character
海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
烟: yān · smoke, soot; opium; tobacco, cigarettes

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–3 · hao4 ru2 yan1 hai3

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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.

浩如煙海 · find source passages ↗ · 浩如烟海 · find source passages ↗

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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 literature, data, etc., simile) a tremendous amount; voluminous

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

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