丁 是 丁，卯 是 卯

dīng shì dīng , mǎo shì mǎodictionary entry

lit. to keep ding (the fourth heavenly stem) distinct from mao (the fourth earthly branch) (idiom) / fig. meticulous / conscientious / unambiguous

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-b48bc829c34c5ff1. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

丁是丁，卯是卯 丁是丁，卯是卯 [ding1 shi4 ding1 , mao3 shi4 mao3] /lit. to keep ding (the fourth heavenly stem) distinct from mao (the fourth earthly branch) (idiom)/fig. meticulous/conscientious/unambiguous/

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Reference information

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

Character information

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Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.