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漠然置之

Mandarin · pinyin mò rán zhì zhī

to set to one side and ignore (idiom); quite indifferent
cold and uncaring

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Characters in this entry

漠: mò · desert; aloof, indifferent, cool
然: rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
置: zhì · place, lay out; set aside
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · mo4 ran2 zhi4 zhi1

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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.

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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 show indifference to; to turn a blind eye

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

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