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海枯石烂

hǎi kū shí làndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) until the seas dry up and stones go soft (idiom) / (fig.) forever / until the end of time
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-0af7ac53af60c7d8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

海枯石爛 海枯石烂 [hai3 ku1 shi2 lan4] /(lit.) until the seas dry up and stones go soft (idiom)/(fig.) forever; until the end of time/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 海枯石爛

  • 海
    hǎi

    ocean / sea / CL:個|个[gè],片[piàn] / great number of people or things / (dialect) numerous

    Hǎi

    surname Hai

  • 枯
    kū

    (of plants) withered / (of wells, rivers etc) dried up / (bound form) dull / boring / (bound form) residue of pressed oilseeds

  • 石
    dàn

    dry measure for grain equal to ten dou 斗[dǒu] / one hundred liters / ancient pr. [shí]

    shí

    rock / stone / stone inscription / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]

    Shí

    surname Shi / abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shí jiā zhuāng], the capital of Hebei

  • 烂
    làn

    soft / mushy / well-cooked and soft / to rot / to decompose / rotten / worn out / chaotic / messy / utterly / thoroughly / crappy / bad

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.