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鹹魚翻身

简咸鱼翻身 · 繁鹹魚翻身

Mandarin · pinyin xián yú fān shēn

lit. the salted fish turns over (idiom)
fig. to experience a reversal of fortune

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Characters in this entry

鹹: Look up this written character
魚: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
翻: fān · flip over, upset, capsize
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
咸: xián · together; all, completely; united; hexagram ䷞
鱼: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–1 · xian2 yu2 fan1 shen1

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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.

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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.

verb

to suddenly thrive and prosper while seemingly hopeless before; to make a comeback victory

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

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