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端倪

Mandarin · pinyin duān ní

boundary
clue
indication
to obtain clues
to infer

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Characters in this entry

端: duān · end, extreme; head; beginning
倪: ní · feeble, tiny, young and weak

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · duan1 ni2

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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 · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dyun1 ngai4

Cantonese word readings for 端倪. 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.

noun

sign; inkling; clue
(literary) boundary; limit; bound

verb

(literary) to predict (the development of); to forecast

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

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