DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

陰魂不散

简阴魂不散 · 繁陰魂不散

Mandarin · pinyin yīn hún bù sàn

lit. the soul of a deceased has not yet dispersed (idiom)
fig. the influence still lingers on
the spirit (of some doctrine) is still alive

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

陰: Look up this written character
魂: hún · soul, spirit
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
散: sàn · scatter, disperse, break up
阴: yīn · 'female' principle; dark; secret

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · yin1 hun2 bu4 san4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

陰魂不散 · find source passages ↗ · 阴魂不散 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to have a (often negative) lasting effect (with respect to a person or event that is now not existing)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack