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無常

简无常 · 繁無常

Mandarin · pinyin wú cháng

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
常: cháng · common, normal, frequent, regular
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · wu2 chang2

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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2character links1same-tone record

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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.

無常 · find source passages ↗ · 无常 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mou4 soeng4

Cantonese word readings for 無常. 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.

adj

changeable; variable; sporadic; irregular; inconsistent

noun

(Chinese mythology) Wuchang, one or two deities in Chinese folk religion who seize the spirits of people to the Underworld
(Buddhism) impermanence

verb

(euphemistic) to die; to pass away

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

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