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開宗明義

简开宗明义 · 繁開宗明義

Mandarin · pinyin kāi zōng míng yì

to declare at the outset (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
宗: zōng · lineage, ancestry; ancestor, clan
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
義: Look up this written character
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
义: yì · right conduct, righteousness

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–4 · kai1 zong1 ming2 yi4

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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.

開宗明義 · find source passages ↗ · 开宗明义 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hoi1 zung1 ming4 ji6

Cantonese word readings for 開宗明義. 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 make clear the main idea at the beginning in one's speech or writing

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

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