避重就輕

简 避重就轻 · 繁 避重就輕
Mandarin · pinyin bì zhòng jiù qīng

Meanings

  1. to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial
  2. to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones
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Characters in this entry

避
bì · avoid; turn aside; escape; hide
重
zhòng · heavy, weighty; double
就
jiù · just, simply; to come, go to; to approach, near
輕
qīng · light; easy, simple; gentle
轻
qīng · light; easy, simple; gentle
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–1 · bi4 zhong4 jiu4 qing1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bei6 cung5 zau6 heng1

Cantonese word readings for 避重就輕. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

bei6 cung5 zau6 heng1

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

  1. (idiomatic) to pick only the easy tasks to do; to take the easy way out
  2. (idiomatic) to avoid the major issues and only engage in the trivial ones

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

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

避重就輕 · bi4 zhong4 jiu4 qing1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 109,441
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record避重就輕 避重就轻 [bi4 zhong4 jiu4 qing1] /to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial/to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones/