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靈丹妙藥

简灵丹妙药 · 繁靈丹妙藥

Mandarin · pinyin líng dān miào yào

effective cure, miracle medicine (idiom); fig. wonder-cure for all problems
panacea
elixir

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Characters in this entry

靈: Look up this written character
丹: dān · cinnabar (native HgS); vermilion (artificial HgS used as pigment)
妙: miào · mysterious, subtle; exquisite
藥: Look up this written character
灵: líng · spirit, soul; spiritual world
药: yào · leaf of Dahurian angelica plant; medicine

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · ling2 dan1 miao4 yao4

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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.

靈丹妙藥 · find source passages ↗ · 灵丹妙药 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ling4 daan1 miu6 joek6

Cantonese word readings for 靈丹妙藥. 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) miracle cure; wonder pill; panacea

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

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