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清談

简清谈 · 繁清談

Mandarin · pinyin qīng tán

light intellectual conversation

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Characters in this entry

清: qīng · clear, pure, clean; peaceful
談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · qing1 tan2

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3character links2same-tone records

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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.

清談 · find source passages ↗ · 清谈 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(literary) to chat; to have a casual conversation
(historical) to discuss pure philosophical theories among intellectuals
(figurative) to do empty talk

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

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