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摩頂放踵

简摩顶放踵 · 繁摩頂放踵

Mandarin · pinyin mó dǐng fàng zhǒng

to rub one's head and heels (idiom); to slave for the benefit of others
to wear oneself out for the general good

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Characters in this entry

摩: mó · rub, scour, grind; friction
頂: Look up this written character
放: fàng · put, release, free, liberate
踵: zhǒng · heel; follow; visit, call on
顶: dǐng · top, summit, peak; to carry on the head

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–3 · mo2 ding3 fang4 zhong3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

mo1 deng2 fong3 zung2

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) to dedicate oneself completely to the welfare of mankind

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

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