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一棍子打死

Mandarin · pinyin yī gùn zi dǎ sǐ

to deal a single fatal blow
(fig.) to totally repudiate sb because of a minor error

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
棍: gùn · stick, cudgel; scoundrel
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
打: dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
死: sǐ · die; dead; death

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–5–3–3 · yi1 gun4 zi5 da3 si3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to completely negate; to totally repudiate someone due to a minor error

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

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