DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

破繭成蝶

简破茧成蝶 · 繁破繭成蝶

Mandarin · pinyin pò jiǎn chéng dié

lit. to break through a cocoon and turn into a butterfly (idiom)
fig. to emerge strong after a period of struggle
to get to a better place after going through difficult period

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Characters in this entry

破: pò · break, ruin, destroy; rout
繭: Look up this written character
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
蝶: dié · butterfly
茧: jiǎn · cocoon; callus, blister

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–2 · po4 jian3 cheng2 die2

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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.

破繭成蝶 · find source passages ↗ · 破茧成蝶 · find source passages ↗

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