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神出鬼沒

简神出鬼没 · 繁神出鬼沒

Mandarin · pinyin shén chū guǐ mò

(lit.) to appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost (idiom)
(fig.) elusive

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Characters in this entry

神: shén · spirit, god, supernatural being
出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
鬼: guǐ · ghost; spirit of dead; devil; Kangxi radical 194; 23rd lunar mansion, determinative star θ Cancri
沒: méi · not, have not, none; to drown, sink
没: méi · not, have not, none; drown, sink

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–4 · shen2 chu1 gui3 mo4

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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.

神出鬼沒 · find source passages ↗ · 神出鬼没 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

san4 ceot1 gwai2 mut6

Cantonese word readings for 神出鬼沒. 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

(idiomatic) to appear and disappear unpredictably like a ghost

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

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