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蟪蛄不知春秋

Mandarin · pinyin huì gū bù zhī chūn qiū

"the short-lived cicada knows nothing of spring or autumn" (from the Zhuangzi 莊子 Zhuāng zǐ); (fig.) to have a limited perspective

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Characters in this entry

蟪: huì · a kind of cicada
蛄: gū · mole cricket
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
春: chūn · spring; wanton
秋: qiū · autumn, fall; year

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–1–1–1 · hui4 gu1 bu4 zhi1 chun1 qiu1

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wai6 gu1 bat1 zi1 ceon1 cau1

Cantonese word readings for 蟪蛄不知春秋. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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