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瞭如指掌

简了如指掌 · 繁瞭如指掌

Mandarin · pinyin liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng

variant of 了如指掌 liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng

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Characters in this entry

瞭: liào · liǎo · bright, clear; clear-sighted
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
掌: zhǎng · palm of hand, sole of foot, paw
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–3–3 · liao3 ru2 zhi3 zhang3

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5character links1same-tone record1source reference

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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.

瞭如指掌 · find source passages ↗ · 了如指掌 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

liu4 jyu4 zi2 zoeng2

Cantonese word readings for 瞭如指掌. 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.

phrase

(simile) to know like the back of one's hand

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

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