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出頭的椽子先爛

简出头的椽子先烂 · 繁出頭的椽子先爛

Mandarin · pinyin chū tóu de chuán zi xiān làn

lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom)
fig. anyone who makes himself conspicuous will be targeted for attack

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Characters in this entry

出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
的: de · possessive, adjectival suffix
椽: chuán · beams, rafters, supports
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
先: xiān · first, former, previous
爛: Look up this written character
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
烂: làn · rotten, spoiled, decayed

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–5–2–5–1–4 · chu1 tou2 de5 chuan2 zi5 xian1 lan4

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