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青紅皂白

简青红皂白 · 繁青紅皂白

Mandarin · pinyin qīng hóng zào bái

the rights and wrongs of a matter (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

青: qīng · blue, green; young; Kangxi radical 174
紅: hóng · red, vermillion; blush, flush
皂: zào · soap; black; menial servant
白: bái · white; pure, unblemished; bright
红: hóng · red, vermillion; blush, flush

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–2 · qing1 hong2 zao4 bai2

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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.

青紅皂白 · find source passages ↗ · 青红皂白 · 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) wheat and chaff; right and wrong

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

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