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能屈能伸

Mandarin · pinyin néng qū néng shēn

can bow and submit, or can stand tall (idiom, from Book of Changes); ready to give and take
flexible

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Characters in this entry

能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
屈: qū · bend, flex; bent, crooked; crouch
伸: shēn · extend, stretch out, open up; trust

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–1 · neng2 qu1 neng2 shen1

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

nang4 wat1 nang4 san1

Cantonese word readings for 能屈能伸. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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