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作繭自縛

简作茧自缚 · 繁作繭自縛

Mandarin · pinyin zuò jiǎn zì fù

to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
hoist by his own petard

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Characters in this entry

作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
繭: Look up this written character
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
縛: Look up this written character
茧: jiǎn · cocoon; callus, blister
缚: fù · to tie

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–4 · zuo4 jian3 zi4 fu4

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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.

作繭自縛 · find source passages ↗ · 作茧自缚 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zok3 gaan2 zi6 bok3

Cantonese word readings for 作繭自縛. 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 act in a way that traps oneself or puts oneself in a difficult situation

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

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