DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

抽絲剝繭

简抽丝剥茧 · 繁抽絲剝繭

Mandarin · pinyin chōu sī bō jiǎn

(lit.) to unwind the silk thread from the cocoon (idiom)
(fig.) to unravel a mystery; to painstakingly follow the clues to eventually get to the bottom of the matter

Characters in this entry

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

1–1–1–3 · chou1 si1 bo1 jian3

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

cau1 si1 mok1 gaan2

Cantonese word readings for 抽絲剝繭. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

cau1 si1 mok1 gaan2

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

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

(idiomatic) to painstakingly get to the bottom of something; to struggle to understand a convoluted argument or issue