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源遠流長

简源远流长 · 繁源遠流長

Mandarin · pinyin yuán yuǎn liú cháng

(idiom) of long standing; with a long history; stretching back to ancient times

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Characters in this entry

源: yuán · spring; source, head; surname
遠: yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound
流: liú · flow, circulate, drift; class
長: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader; Kangxi radical 168
远: yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound
长: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–2–2 · yuan2 yuan3 liu2 chang2

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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.

源遠流長 · find source passages ↗ · 源远流长 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyun4 jyun5 lau4 coeng4

Cantonese word readings for 源遠流長. 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) having a long and rich history; to extend to the dim and distant past

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

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