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蠟燭兩頭燒

简蜡烛两头烧 · 繁蠟燭兩頭燒

Mandarin · pinyin là zhú liǎng tóu shāo

to burn the candle at both ends (idiom)
to labor under a double burden

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Characters in this entry

蠟: Look up this written character
燭: Look up this written character
兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
燒: shāo · burn; bake; heat; roast
蜡: là · wax; candle; waxy, glazed; maggot; (same as 䄍) meaning imperial harvest
烛: zhú · candle, taper; shine, illuminate
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
烧: shāo · burn; bake; heat; roast

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–2–1 · la4 zhu2 liang3 tou2 shao1

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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.

蠟燭兩頭燒 · find source passages ↗ · 蜡烛两头烧 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

laap6 zuk1 loeng5 tau4 siu1

Cantonese word readings for 蠟燭兩頭燒. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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