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精衛填海

简精卫填海 · 繁精衛填海

Mandarin · pinyin Jīng wèi tián hǎi

lit. mythical bird Jingwei tries to fill the ocean with stones (idiom); futile ambition
task of Sisyphus
determination in the face of impossible odds

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Characters in this entry

精: jīng · essence; semen; spirit
衛: Look up this written character
填: tián · fill in, fill up; make good
海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
卫: wèi · guard, protect, defend

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–2–3 · Jing1 wei4 tian2 hai3

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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.

精衛填海 · find source passages ↗ · 精卫填海 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zing1 wai6 tin4 hoi2

Cantonese word readings for 精衛填海. 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

(figurative) dogged determination

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

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