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借題發揮

简借题发挥 · 繁借題發揮

Mandarin · pinyin jiè tí fā huī

to use the current topic to put over one's own ideas
to use sth as a pretext to make a fuss

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Characters in this entry

借: jiè · borrow; lend; make pretext of
題: Look up this written character
發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
揮: Look up this written character
题: tí · forehead; title, headline; theme
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair
挥: huī · direct; wipe away; squander

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–1 · jie4 ti2 fa1 hui1

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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.

借題發揮 · find source passages ↗ · 借题发挥 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ze3 tai4 faat3 fai1

Cantonese word readings for 借題發揮. 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 seize on an incident to express one's own ideas

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

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