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登堂入室

Mandarin · pinyin dēng táng rù shì

(lit.) from the main room, enter the inner chamber (idiom)
(fig.) to go to the next level; to attain a higher level

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Characters in this entry

登: dēng · rise, mount, board, climb
堂: táng · hall; government office
入: rù · enter, come in(to), join
室: shì · room, home, house, chamber; 13th lunar mansion, determinative star α Pegasi (Markab)

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · deng1 tang2 ru4 shi4

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to break into a house
(figurative) to attain a high level in one's learning

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

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