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四大皆空

sì dà jiē kōngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom) / this world is an illusion
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-5600b27da4db47e8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

四大皆空 四大皆空 [si4 da4 jie1 kong1] /lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom)/this world is an illusion/

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.

  • 四
    sì

    four / 4

  • 大
    dà

    big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)

    dài

    see 大夫[dài fu]

  • 皆
    jiē

    all / each and every / in all cases

  • 空
    kōng

    empty / air / sky / in vain

    kòng

    to empty / vacant / unoccupied / space / leisure / free time

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.