DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

無心插柳柳成陰

简无心插柳柳成阴 · 繁無心插柳柳成陰

Mandarin · pinyin wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn

lit. idly poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree to shade you
(fig.) unintentional actions may bring unexpected success
also written 無心插柳柳成蔭

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
插: chā · insert, stick into; plant
柳: liǔ · willow tree; pleasure; 24th lunar mansion, determinative star δ Hydrae
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
陰: Look up this written character
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
阴: yīn · 'female' principle; dark; secret

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–1–3–3–2–1 · wu2 xin1 cha1 liu3 liu3 cheng2 yin1

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無心插柳柳成陰 · find source passages ↗ · 无心插柳柳成阴 · find source passages ↗

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