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自圓其說

简自圆其说 · 繁自圓其說

Mandarin · pinyin zì yuán qí shuō

(idiom) to make a story or theory consistent; to give a plausible explanation; to plug the holes in one's story

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
圓: yuán · circle; round, circular; complete
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
圆: yuán · circle; round, circular; complete
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–1 · zi4 yuan2 qi2 shuo1

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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.

自圓其說 · find source passages ↗ · 自圆其说 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 jyun4 kei4 syut3

Cantonese word readings for 自圓其說. 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 justify in order to make one's own statement consistent and flawless

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

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