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滔滔不絕

简滔滔不绝 · 繁滔滔不絕

Mandarin · pinyin tāo tāo bù jué

(idiom) to produce a torrent of words; to talk on and on

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Characters in this entry

滔: tāo · overflow; rushing water, a torrent
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
絕: Look up this written character
绝: jué · to cut, sever, break off, terminate

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2 · tao1 tao1 bu4 jue2

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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.

滔滔不絕 · find source passages ↗ · 滔滔不绝 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tou1 tou1 bat1 zyut6

Cantonese word readings for 滔滔不絕. 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

(of talking) endless; talking nineteen to the dozen

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

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