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聚沙成塔

Mandarin · pinyin jù shā chéng tǎ

(lit.) many sand grains accumulate to form a tower (idiom)
(fig.) many little things add up to sth great

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Characters in this entry

聚: jù · assemble, meet together, collect
沙: shā · sand, gravel, pebbles; granulated
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
塔: tǎ · tower, spire, tall building

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–2–3 · ju4 sha1 cheng2 ta3

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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 · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zeoi6 saa1 sing4 taap3

Cantonese word readings for 聚沙成塔. 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) by gathering small amounts one gets a huge quantity, many a mickle makes a muckle

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

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