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饭后一支烟，赛过活神仙

fàn hòu yī zhī yān , sài guò huó shén xiāndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
have a smoke after each meal and you will surpass the immortals (proverb)
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-5861c6b434420708. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

飯後一支煙，賽過活神仙 饭后一支烟，赛过活神仙 [fan4 hou4 yi1 zhi1 yan1 , sai4 guo4 huo2 shen2 xian1] /have a smoke after each meal and you will surpass the immortals (proverb)/

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: 飯後一支煙，賽過活神仙

  • 饭
    fàn

    cooked rice / CL:碗[wǎn] / meal / CL:頓|顿[dùn] / (loanword) fan / devotee

  • 后
    hòu

    empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler / back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-

    Hòu

    surname Hou

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 支
    zhī

    to support / to sustain / to erect / to raise / branch / division / to draw money / classifier for rods such as pens and guns, for army divisions and for songs or compositions

    Zhī

    surname Zhi

  • 烟
    yān

    cigarette or pipe tobacco / CL:根[gēn] / smoke / mist / vapour / CL:縷|缕[lǚ] / tobacco plant / (of the eyes) to be irritated by smoke / tobacco (variant of 煙|烟[yān])

  • 赛
    sài

    to compete / competition / match / to surpass / better than / superior to / to excel

  • 过
    guò

    to cross / to go over / to pass (time) / to celebrate (a holiday) / to live / to get along / excessively / too-

    guo

    (experienced action marker)

    Guō

    surname Guo

  • 活
    huó

    to live / alive / living / work / workmanship

  • 神
    shén

    god / deity / supernatural / magical / mysterious / spirit / mind / energy / lively / expressive / look / expression / (coll.) awesome / amazing

  • 仙
    xiān

    immortal

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.