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知子莫若父

Mandarin · pinyin zhī zǐ mò ruò fù

nobody understands one's son better than his father (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
莫: mò · do not, is not, can not; negative
若: ruò · if, supposing, assuming; similar
父: fù · father; Kangxi radical 88

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4–4–4 · zhi1 zi3 mo4 ruo4 fu4

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi1 zi2 mok6 joek6 fu6

Cantonese word readings for 知子莫若父. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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