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茅塞頓開

简茅塞顿开 · 繁茅塞頓開

Mandarin · pinyin máo sè dùn kāi

murky darkness suddenly opens (idiom); a sudden flash of insight and all is clear

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Characters in this entry

茅: máo · reeds, rushes, grass; surname
塞: sāi · stop up, block, seal, cork; pass, frontier; fortress
頓: Look up this written character
開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
顿: dùn · pause, stop; bow, kowtow; arrange
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–1 · mao2 se4 dun4 kai1

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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.

茅塞頓開 · find source passages ↗ · 茅塞顿开 · find source passages ↗

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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 enlightened all of a sudden; to come to the realization all of a sudden

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

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