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窮則思變

简穷则思变 · 繁窮則思變

Mandarin · pinyin qióng zé sī biàn

(idiom) when you hit bottom, you have to come up with a new approach

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Characters in this entry

窮: Look up this written character
則: Look up this written character
思: sī · think, consider, ponder; final particle
變: Look up this written character
穷: qióng · poor, destitute, impoverished
则: zé · rule, law, regulation; grades
变: biàn · change, transform, alter; rebel

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · qiong2 ze2 si1 bian4

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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.

窮則思變 · find source passages ↗ · 穷则思变 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

kung4 zak1 si1 bin3

Cantonese word readings for 窮則思變. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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