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倒打一耙

Mandarin · pinyin dào dǎ yī pá

lit. to strike with a muckrake (idiom), cf Pigsy 豬八戒 in Journey to the West 西遊記; fig. to counterattack
to make bogus accusations (against one's victim)

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Characters in this entry

倒: dào · fall over; lie down; take turns
打: dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
耙: bà · pá · rake

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–2 · dao4 da3 yi1 pa2

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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

dou2 daa2 jat1 paa4

Cantonese word readings for 倒打一耙. 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 put the blame on one's victim, to make unfounded countercharges, to recriminate, to counter-attack

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

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