上有政策,下有對策

简 上有政策,下有对策 · 繁 上有政策,下有對策
Mandarin · pinyin shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè

Meanings

  1. The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
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Characters in this entry

上
shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
有
yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
政
zhèng · government, political affairs
策
cè · scheme, plan; to whip; urge
下
xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
對
duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
对
duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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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.

上有政策,下有對策 · find source passages ↗ · 上有政策,下有对策 · find source passages ↗

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上有政策,下有對策 · shang4 you3 zheng4 ce4 , xia4 you3 dui4 ce4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 1,712
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record上有政策,下有對策 上有政策,下有对策 [shang4 you3 zheng4 ce4 , xia4 you3 dui4 ce4] /The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)/