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識文斷字

简识文断字 · 繁識文斷字

Mandarin · pinyin shí wén duàn zì

(idiom) able to read; literate

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Characters in this entry

識: Look up this written character
文: wén · literature, culture, writing
斷: Look up this written character
字: zì · letter, character, word
识: shí · shì · recognize, understand, know
断: duàn · sever, cut off; interrupt

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–4 · shi2 wen2 duan4 zi4

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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.

識文斷字 · find source passages ↗ · 识文断字 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sik1 man4 dyun3 zi6

Cantonese word readings for 識文斷字. 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

(literary) to be literate

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

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