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貌合神離

简貌合神离 · 繁貌合神離

Mandarin · pinyin mào hé shén lí

the appearance of unity, but divided at heart (idiom); seeming harmony belies underlying disagreement

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Characters in this entry

貌: mào · countenance, appearance
合: hé · combine, unite, join; gather
神: shén · spirit, god, supernatural being
離: Look up this written character
离: lí · rare beast; strange; elegant

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–2 · mao4 he2 shen2 li2

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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.

貌合神離 · find source passages ↗ · 貌合神离 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maau6 hap6 san4 lei4

Cantonese word readings for 貌合神離. 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

(idiomatic) to appear united or intimate but in reality have different thoughts

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

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