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胎死腹中

Mandarin · pinyin tāi sǐ fù zhōng

fetus dies in the belly
(fig.) plans or projects failed before being carried out

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Characters in this entry

胎: tāi · unborn child, embryo, fetus
死: sǐ · die; dead; death
腹: fù · stomach, belly, abdomen; inside
中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4–1 · tai1 si3 fu4 zhong1

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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 · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

toi1 sei2 fuk1 zung1

Cantonese word readings for 胎死腹中. 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) fetus dies in the belly; stillbirth; stillborn
(figurative) plans or projects failed or were cancelled before being tried

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

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