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顧影自憐

简顾影自怜 · 繁顧影自憐

Mandarin · pinyin gù yǐng zì lián

lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom)
fig. alone and dejected

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Characters in this entry

顧: Look up this written character
影: yǐng · shadow; image, reflection; photograph
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
憐: Look up this written character
顾: gù · look back; look at; look after
怜: lián · pity, sympathize

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–2 · gu4 ying3 zi4 lian2

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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.

顧影自憐 · find source passages ↗ · 顾影自怜 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gu3 jing2 zi6 lin4

Cantonese word readings for 顧影自憐. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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