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血濃於水

简血浓于水 · 繁血濃於水

Mandarin · pinyin xuè nóng yú shuǐ

blood is thicker than water
fig. family ties are closer than social relations

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Characters in this entry

血: xuè · blood; Kangxi radical 143
濃: Look up this written character
於: yú · yū · in, at, on; interjection alas!
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
浓: nóng · thick, strong, concentrated
于: yú · in, on, at; go to; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–3 · xue4 nong2 yu2 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.

血濃於水 · find source passages ↗ · 血浓于水 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hyut3 nung4 jyu1 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 血濃於水. 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.

proverb

blood is thicker than water

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

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