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Chinese/Dictionary entry

乾坤

qián kūndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
yin and yang / heaven and earth / the universe
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-858690d910918b33. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

乾坤 乾坤 [qian2 kun1] /yin and yang; heaven and earth; the universe/

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.

  • 乾
    qián

    one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[bā guà], symbolizing heaven / male principle / ☰ / ancient Chinese compass point: 315° (northwest)

    gān

    dry / dried food / empty / hollow / taken in to nominal kinship / adoptive / foster / futile / in vain / (dialect) rude / blunt / (dialect) to cold-shoulder

    Qián

    surname Qian

    Gān

    surname Gan

  • 坤
    kūn

    one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[bā guà], symbolizing earth / female principle / ☷ / ancient Chinese compass point: 225° (southwest)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.