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知音

Mandarin · pinyin zhī yīn

intimate friend
soul mate

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Characters in this entry

知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
音: yīn · sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation; Kangxi radical 180

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · zhi1 yin1

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi1 jam1

Cantonese word readings for 知音. 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.

noun

friend keenly appreciative of one's talents; bosom friend; intimate friend; soul mate

verb

(literary, literal) to have a thorough understanding of music; to be proficient in music

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

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