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倒持泰阿

Mandarin · pinyin dào chí Tài ē

(lit.) to present the handle of a sword to another (idiom)
(fig.) to relinquish power to another; to place oneself at another's mercy

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Characters in this entry

倒: dào · fall over; lie down; take turns
持: chí · sustain, support; hold, grasp
泰: tài · great, exalted, superior; big; hexagram ䷊
阿: ā · prefix for people's names; used in transliteration

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · dao4 chi2 Tai4 e1

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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

(figurative) giving power to others while harm oneself

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

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