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上綱上線

简上纲上线 · 繁上綱上線

Mandarin · pinyin shàng gāng shàng xiàn

to make a mountain out of a molehill

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Characters in this entry

上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
綱: Look up this written character
線: Look up this written character
纲: gāng · heavy rope, hawser; main points
线: xiàn · line, thread, wire; clue

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · shang4 gang1 shang4 xian4

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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.

上綱上線 · find source passages ↗ · 上纲上线 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

soeng5 gong1 soeng5 sin3

Cantonese word readings for 上綱上線. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

(chiefly Mainland China) to be overcritical of a small issue by raising it to the level of important issues, such as the country, politics, society, ideology, etc.

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

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