DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

翻空出奇

Mandarin · pinyin fān kōng chū qí

to overturn empty convention, and display originality (idiom); new and different ideas

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

翻: fān · flip over, upset, capsize
空: kōng · empty, hollow, bare, deserted
出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
奇: qí · strange, unusual, uncanny, occult

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–1–2 · fan1 kong1 chu1 qi2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

翻空出奇 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faan1 hung1 ceot1 kei4

Cantonese word readings for 翻空出奇. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack