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涇渭分明

简泾渭分明 · 繁涇渭分明

Mandarin · pinyin Jīng Wèi fēn míng

as rivers Jing and Wei separate clearly (idiom)
to be entirely different

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Characters in this entry

涇: Look up this written character
渭: wèi · name of a river in Shanxi
分: fēn · divide; small unit of time etc.
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
泾: jīng · name of a river

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–2 · Jing1 Wei4 fen1 ming2

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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.

涇渭分明 · find source passages ↗ · 泾渭分明 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ging1 wai6 fan1 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 涇渭分明. 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 be entirely different; to be completely distinct (right and wrong; good and bad)

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

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