LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

移花接木

Mandarin · pinyin yí huā jiē mù

(lit.) to graft flowers onto a tree (idiom)
(fig.) to surreptitiously substitute one thing for another

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

移: yí · change place, shift; move about
花: huā · flower; blossoms
接: jiē · receive; continue; catch; connect
木: mù · tree; wood, lumber; wooden

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–1–1–4 · yi2 hua1 jie1 mu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji4 faa1 zip3 muk6

Cantonese word readings for 移花接木. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

ji4 faa1 zip3 muk6

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 graft one twig on another; to graft
(figuratively, derogatory) to stealthily substitute one thing for another

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack