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雲泥之別

简云泥之别 · 繁雲泥之別

Mandarin · pinyin yún ní zhī bié

(idiom) a world of difference

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Characters in this entry

雲: yún · clouds; Yunnan province
泥: ní · mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
別: Look up this written character
云: yún · say, speak; clouds
别: bié · separate, other; do not

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–2 · yun2 ni2 zhi1 bie2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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雲泥之別 · find source passages ↗ · 云泥之别 · find source passages ↗

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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) starkly different, one being considerably better or higher in status than the other

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

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