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石沉大海

Mandarin · pinyin shí chén dà hǎi

lit. to throw a stone and see it sink without trace in the sea (idiom)
fig. to elicit no response

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Characters in this entry

石: shí · stone, rock, mineral; Kangxi radical 112
沉: chén · sink, submerge; addicted to
大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–3 · shi2 chen2 da4 hai3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sek6 cam4 daai6 hoi2

Cantonese word readings for 石沉大海. 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

(literally) a stone sinks in the ocean
(figurative) to receive no response; to never hear back from someone or about something

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

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