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造繭自縛

简 造茧自缚 · 繁 造繭自縛
Mandarin · pinyin zào jiǎn zì fù

Meanings

  1. to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
  2. hoist with his own petard
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Characters in this entry

造
zào · construct, build, make, begin; prepare
繭
Look up this written character
自
zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
縛
Look up this written character
茧
jiǎn · cocoon; callus, blister
缚
fù · to tie
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 造繭自縛 ↗Words written with 造 ↗Words written with 繭 ↗Words written with 自 ↗Words written with 縛 ↗Words written with 茧 ↗Words written with 缚 ↗

Mandarin tones

4–3–4–4 · zao4 jian3 zi4 fu4

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zou6 gaan2 zi6 bok3

Cantonese word readings for 造繭自縛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

zou6 gaan2 zi6 bok3

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

造繭自縛 · zao4 jian3 zi4 fu4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 108,060
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record造繭自縛 造茧自缚 [zao4 jian3 zi4 fu4] /to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising/hoist with his own petard/