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三教九流

sān jiào jiǔ liú

4-character word

What 三教九流 means

1. the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists)
2. fig. people from all trades (often derog.)

The characters in 三教九流

• 三sānthree; 3
• 教jiāoto teach; to instruct
• 九jiǔnine; 9
• 流liúto flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read sān jiào jiǔ liú correctly.
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