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English Definition Add a new word to the dictionary Traditional
HSK
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *四* | 四* | *四
four / 4
HSK 1
splitcharactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *421* | 421* | *421
four grandparents, two parents and an only child
four seasons, namely: spring , summer , autumn and winter
HSK 7-9
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong 羅貫中|罗贯中, one of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature, a fictional account of the Three Kingdoms at the break-up of the Han around 200 AD, portraying Liu Bei's 劉備|刘备 Shu Han 蜀漢|蜀汉 as heroes and Cao Cao's 曹操 Wei as villains
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *乘* | 乘* | *乘
(archaic) four horse military chariot / (archaic) four / generic term for history books
Mt Wutai in Shanxi 山西, one of the Four Sacred Mountains and home of the Bodhimanda of Manjushri 文殊
(slang) swearword / four-letter word
the four great Chinese inventions: paper, printing, magnetic compass and gunpowder
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *燕* | 燕* | *燕
Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in present-day Hebei and Liaoning / north Hebei / the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕 (337–370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕 (384–409), Southern Yan 南燕 (398–410), Northern Yan 北燕 (409–436) / surname Yan
(idiom) addition, subtraction, multiplication and division: the four basic operations of arithmetic
lit. say three in the morning but four in the evening (idiom); to change sth that is already settled upon / indecisive / to blow hot and cold
HSK 7-9
twenty four dynastic histories (or 25 or 26 in modern editions)
Guan Hanqing (c. 1235-c. 1300), Yuan dynasty dramatist in the 雜劇|杂剧 tradition of musical comedy, one of the Four Great Yuan dramatists 元曲四大家
the Four Cleanups Movement (1963-66) / abbr. for 四清運動|四清运动
division of China during earliest dynasties / fig. ancient China / Kyūshū, southernmost of Japan's four major islands
Mount Jiuhua in Anhui, scenic tourist site, and one of the four famous Buddhist mountains
"Journey to the West", a Ming dynasty novel by Wu Cheng'en 吳承恩|吴承恩, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, also known as "Pilgrimage to the West" or "Monkey"
the Four Cardinal Principles enunciated by Deng Xiaoping 鄧小平|邓小平 in 1979: to uphold the socialist road, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the leadership of the CCP, and Maoism and Marxism-Leninism
the Great Learning, one of the Four Books 四書|四书 in Confucianism
lit. , , and (four grammatical particles of Classical Chinese) (idiom) / fig. archaic expressions
the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature, namely: A Dream of Red Mansions 紅樓夢|红楼梦, Romance of Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义, Water Margin 水滸傳|水浒传, Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记
Wu Yi (1938-), one of four vice-premiers of the PRC State Council
(of one who has supernatural powers) to replicate oneself so as to appear in two or more places at the same time / a derivative version of sb (or sth) (e.g. avatar, proxy, clone, sockpuppet) / to spare some time for a separate task / to cut a corpse into pieces / to pull a body apart by the four limbs / parturition
modernization of agriculture, one of Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernizations
the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind (Buddhism) / the four freedoms: speaking out freely, airing views fully, holding great debates, and writing big-character posters, 大鳴大放|大鸣大放, 大辯論|大辩论, 大字報|大字报 (PRC)
four-wheel drive
Tang Bohu or Tang Yin 唐寅 (1470-1523), Ming painter and poet, one of Four great southern talents of the Ming 江南四大才子
Mandarin phonetic symbols (MPS), phonetic alphabet for Chinese used esp. in Taiwan, also known colloquially as Bopomofo (after the first four letters of the alphabet:ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)
four-by-four (vehicle) / 4x4
modernization of national defense, one of Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernizations
Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'an 施耐庵, one of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature
National Games, Chinese athletics competition, organized every four years since 1959
four-dimensional space (math.)
the four book depositories, namely: classics 經|经, history , philosophy , belles-lettres
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *卦* | 卦* | *卦
divinatory diagram / one of the eight divinatory trigrams of the Book of Changes 易經|易经 / one of the sixty-four divinatory hexagrams of the Book of Changes 易經|易经
poetic form consisting of four lines of five syllables, with rhymes on first, second and fourth line
the Twenty-Four Histories (25 or 26 in modern editions), collection of books on Chinese dynastic history from 3000 BC till 17th century / fig. a long and complicated story
four of a kind / quads (poker)
spring and autumn / four seasons / year / a person's age / annals (used in book titles)
the four tones of Middle Chinese: level tone 平聲|平声, rising tone 上聲|上声, departing tone 去聲|去声 and entering tone 入聲|入声 / the four tones of Modern Standard Mandarin
Four Treasures of the Study, namely 筆|笔, , 紙|纸 and 硯|砚 / the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship (idiom)
Wang Zhaojun (52-19 BC), famous beauty at the court of Han emperor Yuan 漢元帝|汉元帝, one of the four legendary beauties 四大美女
four seasons like spring / favorable climate throughout the year
four corner code (input method for Chinese characters)
the four limbs of the body
four-leaf clover
Mount Emei in Sichuan, one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism
lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom) / this world is an illusion
the four legendary beauties of ancient China, namely: Xishi 西施, Wang Zhaojun 王昭君, Diaochan 貂蟬|貂蝉 and Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環|杨玉环
science and technology is the number one productive force (from a 1978 speech by Deng Xiaoping 鄧小平|邓小平 introducing the Four Modernizations 四個現代化|四个现代化)
A Dream of Red Mansions (first completed edition 1791) by Cao Xueqin 曹雪芹, one of the four great novels
four Confucian injunctions 孝悌忠信 (for men), namely: piety to one's parents, respect to one's older brother, loyalty to one's monarch, faith to one's male friends / the four Confucian virtues for women of morality , physical charm , propriety in speech and efficiency in needlework
to regard the four corners of the world all as home (idiom) / to feel at home anywhere / to roam about unconstrained / to consider the entire country, or world, to be one's own
in groups of three or four (idiom)
Deng Xiaoping's four modernizations practiced from the 1980s (possibly planned together with Zhou Enlai), namely: modernization of industry, agriculture, national defense and science and technology / abbr. to 四化
fourth / four times / quartic
the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, classic Confucian text on filial piety from Yuan dynasty
Four Comprehensives (political guidelines announced by President Xi Jinping, 2015)
(idiom) propriety, justice, integrity and a sense of shame (i.e. the four social bonds, 四維|四维)
Xishi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the four legendary beauties 四大美女, given by King Gou Jian 勾踐|勾践 of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu
the five emphases, four beauties and three loves (PRC policy introduced in 1981, including emphasis on manners, beauty of language and love of socialism)
four-way / four-sided / in all directions / everywhere
Four Great Painters of the Six Dynasties, namely: Cao Buxing 曹不興|曹不兴, Gu Kaizhi 顧愷之|顾恺之, Lu Tanwei 陸探微|陆探微 and Zhang Sengyou 張僧繇|张僧繇
Four Books, namely: the Great Learning 大學|大学, the Doctrine of the Mean 中庸, the Analects of Confucius 論語|论语, and Mencius 孟子
Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, namely: Mt Wutai 五臺山|五台山 in Shanxi, Mt Emei 峨眉山 in Sichuan, Mt Jiuhua 九華山|九华山 in Anhui, Mt Potala 普陀山 in Zhejiang
Lelang commandery (108 BC-313 AD), one of four Han dynasty commanderies in north Korea
entering tone / checked tone / one of the four tones of Middle Chinese
Gang of Four: Jiang Qing 江青, Zhang Chunqiao 張春橋|张春桥, Yao Wenyuan 姚文元, Wang Hongwen 王洪文, who served as scapegoats for the excesses of the cultural revolution
lit. Zhang Three and Li Four (idiom) / (fig.) any Tom, Dick or Harry
Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Ming painter, one of Four great southern talents of the Ming 江南四大才子
the four seasons / spring, summer, autumn and winter
a pre-Tang Dynasty genre of poetry, relatively free in form, usually having four, five, six or seven characters per line
Four Asian Tigers / East Asian Tigers / Four Little Dragons (East Asian economic powers: Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong)
the four seasons, namely: spring , summer , autumn and winter
Wang Bo (650-676), one of the Four Great Poets of the Early Tang 初唐四傑|初唐四杰
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *鼎* | 鼎* | *鼎
ancient cooking cauldron with two looped handles and three or four legs / pot (dialect) / to enter upon a period of (classical) / Kangxi radical 206 / one of the 64 hexagrams of the Book of Changes
the Doctrine of the Mean, one of the Four Books 四書|四书
Four Generations Under One Roof, novel by Lao She 老舍
four generations under one roof (idiom)
the fire of war in all four directions (idiom); the confusion of war
National Intercity Games, Chinese athletics competition, organized every four years since 1988
four great basin depressions of China, namely: Tarim 塔里木盆地 in south Xinjiang, Jungar 準葛爾盆地|准葛尔盆地 and Tsaidam or Qaidam 柴達木盆地|柴达木盆地 in north Xinjiang Sichuan 四川盆地
the top four
war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
Jöchi (c. 1182–1227) Mongol army commander, eldest of Genghis Khan's four sons
seven heavenly bodies and four imaginary stars (in astrology and feng shui)
(idiom) "the four classes" of ancient China, i.e. scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants
the four social bonds: propriety, justice, integrity and honor / see 禮義廉恥|礼义廉耻 / the four directions / the four limbs (Chinese medicine) / four-dimensional
the four corners (of a rectangle) / the eaves that the four corners of a building
partner (in four person game) / family of proposed marriage partner
Hunan embroidery, one of the four major traditional styles of Chinese embroidery (the other three being 蘇繡|苏绣, 粵繡|粤绣 and 蜀繡|蜀绣)
(four-footed) animal / beast
the four great caves, namely: Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟|龙门石窟 at Luoyang, Henan, Yungang Caves 雲岡石窟|云冈石窟 at Datong, Shanxi, Mogao Caves 莫高窟 at Dunhuang, Gansu, and Mt Maiji Caves 麥積山石窟|麦积山石窟 at Tianshui, Gansu
Azure Dragon, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constellations, also known as the Azure Dragon of the East 東方青龍|东方青龙 or 東方蒼龍|东方苍龙 / (slang) man without pubic hair
Luo Binwang (640-684), one of Four Great Poets of the Early Tang 初唐四傑|初唐四杰
the Four Noble Truths (Budd.), covered by the acronym 苦集滅道|苦集灭道: all life is suffering , the cause of suffering is desire , emancipation comes only by eliminating passions 滅|灭, the way to emancipation is the Eight-fold Noble Way 八正道
Zhang Zhixin (1930-1975) female revolutionary and martyr, who followed the true Marxist-Leninist line as a party member, and was arrested in 1969, then executed in 1975 after opposing the counterrevolutionary party-usurping conspiracies of Lin Biao and the Gang of Four, and only rehabilitated posthumously in 1979
Xuantu commandery (108 BC-c. 300 AD), one of four Han dynasty commanderies in north Korea
Socialist Education Movement (1963-66), formal name of the Four Cleanups Movement 四清運動|四清运动
curse word / four-letter word / esp. the "national swear word" of China, namely 他媽的|他妈的

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