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爆冷

Mandarin · pinyin bào lěng

an upset (esp. in sports)
unexpected turn of events
to pull off a coup
a breakthrough

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Characters in this entry

爆: bào · crackle, pop, burst, explode
冷: lěng · cold, cool; lonely

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3 · bao4 leng3

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baau3 laang5

Cantonese word readings for 爆冷. 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.

verb

(sports) to produce a dark horse; to have an unexpected turn of events

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

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