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烏煙瘴氣

简乌烟瘴气 · 繁烏煙瘴氣

Mandarin · pinyin wū yān zhàng qì

(idiom) full of smoke and noxious fumes; (fig.) toxic atmosphere; chaotic environment

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Characters in this entry

烏: Look up this written character
煙: Look up this written character
瘴: zhàng · malaria pestilential vapors
氣: qì · air, gas, steam, vapor; spirit
乌: wū · crow, rook, raven; black, dark
烟: yān · smoke, soot; opium; tobacco, cigarettes
气: qì · steam, vapor; Kangxi radical 84

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · wu1 yan1 zhang4 qi4

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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.

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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 an atmosphere) filled with black smoke and toxic gas; turgid atmosphere; pandemonium

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

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