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能歌善舞

Mandarin · pinyin néng gē shàn wǔ

can sing and dance (idiom); fig. a person of many talents

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Characters in this entry

能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
歌: gē · song, lyrics; sing, chant; praise
善: shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
舞: wǔ · dance, posture, prance; brandish

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · neng2 ge1 shan4 wu3

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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

nang4 go1 sin6 mou5

Cantonese word readings for 能歌善舞. 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) to be good at singing and dancing
(figurative) to have many talents

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

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