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清心寡慾

简清心寡欲 · 繁清心寡慾

Mandarin · pinyin qīng xīn guǎ yù

(idiom) uninterested in self-indulgence
abstemious
ascetic

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Characters in this entry

清: qīng · clear, pure, clean; peaceful
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
寡: guǎ · widowed; alone, friendless
慾: Look up this written character
欲: yù · desire, want, long for; intend

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–4 · qing1 xin1 gua3 yu4

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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.

清心寡慾 · find source passages ↗ · 清心寡欲 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cing1 sam1 gwaa2 juk6

Cantonese word readings for 清心寡慾. 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 cleanse one's mind of distracting thoughts and limit one's worldly desires

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

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