DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

纏綿悱惻

简缠绵悱恻 · 繁纏綿悱惻

Mandarin · pinyin chán mián fěi cè

(of a person) sad beyond words (idiom)
(of music, literature etc) poignant
very sentimental

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Characters in this entry

纏: Look up this written character
綿: Look up this written character
悱: fěi · to be desirous of speaking
惻: Look up this written character
缠: chán · wrap, wind around; tie, bind
绵: mián · cotton wad; wool; soft, downy
恻: cè · feel anguish, feel compassion

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–3–4 · chan2 mian2 fei3 ce4

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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.

纏綿悱惻 · find source passages ↗ · 缠绵悱恻 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cin4 min4 fei2 cak1

Cantonese word readings for 纏綿悱惻. 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) exceedingly sentimental

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

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