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蜻蜓點水

简蜻蜓点水 · 繁蜻蜓點水

Mandarin · pinyin qīng tíng diǎn shuǐ

lit. the dragonfly touches the water lightly
superficial contact (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

蜻: qīng · dragonfly
蜓: tíng · dragonfly
點: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
点: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · qing1 ting2 dian3 shui3

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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.

蜻蜓點水 · find source passages ↗ · 蜻蜓点水 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cing1 ting4 dim2 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 蜻蜓點水. 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

(figuratively) to do something on a cursory level

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

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