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自力更生

Mandarin · pinyin zì lì gēng shēng

regeneration through one's own effort (idiom)
self-reliance

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
力: lì · power, capability, influence; Kangxi radical 19
更: gèng · more, still further, much more; to change, alter
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–1 · zi4 li4 geng1 sheng1

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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

zi6 lik6 gang1 sang1

Cantonese word readings for 自力更生. 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 rely on one's own efforts; to become self-reliant

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

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