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尾大不掉

Mandarin · pinyin wěi dà bù diào

large tail obstructs action (idiom); bottom heavy
fig. rendered ineffective by subordinates

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Characters in this entry

尾: wěi · tail, extremity; end, stern; 6th lunar mansion, determinative star μ¹ Scorpii (Xamidimura)
大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
掉: diào · turn, move; shake, wag; drop down

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–4 · wei3 da4 bu4 diao4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

mei5 daai6 bat1 diu6

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) a subordinate becomes too powerful for their superior to control

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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