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頂天立地

简顶天立地 · 繁頂天立地

Mandarin · pinyin dǐng tiān lì dì

lit. able to support both heaven and earth
of indomitable spirit (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

頂: Look up this written character
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
立: lì · stand; let stand; establish, set
地: de · dì · earth; soil, ground; region
顶: dǐng · top, summit, peak; to carry on the head

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–4–4 · ding3 tian1 li4 di4

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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.

頂天立地 · find source passages ↗ · 顶天立地 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ding2 tin1 laap6 dei6

Cantonese word readings for 頂天立地. 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) fiercely independent; of indomitable spirit; fear nothing on earth; undertake a Herculean task; upstanding and dauntless

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

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