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秀色可餐

Mandarin · pinyin xiù sè kě cān

a feast for the eyes (idiom)
(of women) gorgeous
graceful
(of scenery) beautiful

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Characters in this entry

秀: xiù · ear of grain; flowering, luxuriant; refined, elegant, graceful
色: sè · color, tint, hue, shade; form, body; beauty, desire for beauty; Kangxi radical 139
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
餐: cān · eat, dine; meal; food

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–1 · xiu4 se4 ke3 can1

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(of a woman) extremely attractive; breathtakingly beautiful

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

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