DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

黎明前的黑暗

Mandarin · pinyin lí míng qián de hēi àn

darkness comes before dawn
things can only get better (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

黎: lí · surname; numerous, many; black
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
的: de · possessive, adjectival suffix
黑: hēi · black; dark; evil, sinister; Kangxi radical 203
暗: àn · dark; obscure; in secret, covert

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–2–2–5–1–4 · li2 ming2 qian2 de5 hei1 an4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

黎明前的黑暗 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lai4 ming4 cin4 dik1 hak1 am3

Cantonese word readings for 黎明前的黑暗. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack