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芝麻綠豆

简芝麻绿豆 · 繁芝麻綠豆

Mandarin · pinyin zhī ma lǜ dòu

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芝: zhī · sesame; a purplish or brown mushroom thought to have miraculous powers; 'a divine and felicitous plant' (Karlgren)
麻: má · hemp, jute, flax; sesame; Kangxi radical 200
綠: lǜ · green; chlorine
豆: dòu · beans, peas; bean-shaped; Kangxi radical 151
绿: lǜ · green; chlorine

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5–4–4 · zhi1 ma5 lu:4 dou4

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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.

芝麻綠豆 · find source passages ↗ · 芝麻绿豆 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi1 maa4 luk6 dau2

Cantonese word readings for 芝麻綠豆. 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.

adj

(figurative) not worth mentioning; of little significance

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

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