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交臂失之

Mandarin · pinyin jiāo bì shī zhī

to miss sb by a narrow chance
to miss an opportunity

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Characters in this entry

交: jiāo · mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
臂: bì · arm
失: shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · jiao1 bi4 shi1 zhi1

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaau1 bei3 sat1 zi1

Cantonese word readings for 交臂失之. 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

(idiomatic) to narrowly miss a golden opportunity (to meet someone etc.)

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

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