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浮光掠影

Mandarin · pinyin fú guāng lüè yǐng

flickering light and passing shadows (idiom)
blurred scenery
cursory
superficial

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Characters in this entry

浮: fú · to float, drift, waft; to exceed; superfluous
光: guāng · light, brilliant, shine; only
掠: lüè · rob, ransack, plunder; pass by
影: yǐng · shadow; image, reflection; photograph

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · fu2 guang1 lu:e4 ying3

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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

fau4 gwong1 loek6 jing2

Cantonese word readings for 浮光掠影. 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) cursory impression; superficial observation

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

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