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風燭殘年

简风烛残年 · 繁風燭殘年

Mandarin · pinyin fēng zhú cán nián

one's late days
to have one foot in the grave

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Characters in this entry

風: fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere; Kangxi radical 182
燭: Look up this written character
殘: Look up this written character
年: nián · year; new-years; person's age
风: fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere
烛: zhú · candle, taper; shine, illuminate
残: cán · injure, spoil; oppress; broken

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–2 · feng1 zhu2 can2 nian2

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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) old and ailing like a candle guttering in the wind

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

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