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適者生存

简适者生存 · 繁適者生存

Mandarin · pinyin shì zhě shēng cún

survival of the fittest

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Characters in this entry

適: Look up this written character
者: zhě · that which; he who; those who
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
存: cún · exist, live, be; survive; remain
适: shì · kuò · go, reach; appropriate, suitable

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–2 · shi4 zhe3 sheng1 cun2

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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.

適者生存 · find source passages ↗ · 适者生存 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sik1 ze2 sang1 cyun4

Cantonese word readings for 適者生存. 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

survival of the fittest

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

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