DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

偷雞不著蝕把米

简偷鸡不着蚀把米 · 繁偷雞不著蝕把米

Mandarin · pinyin tōu jī bù zháo shí bǎ mǐ

see 偷雞不成蝕把米 tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

偷: tōu · to steal, burglar, thief
雞: jī · chickens; domestic fowl
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
著: zhù · zhe · manifest; (Cant.) to wear
蝕: Look up this written character
把: bǎ · hold, take; guard; regard as
米: mǐ · hulled or husked uncooked rice
鸡: jī · chicken
着: zhe · make move, take action
蚀: shí · nibble away; erode; eclipse

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2–2–3–3 · tou1 ji1 bu4 zhao2 shi2 ba3 mi3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

9character links1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

偷雞不著蝕把米 · find source passages ↗ · 偷鸡不着蚀把米 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) synonym of 偷雞不成蝕把米 /偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bùchéng shí bǎ mǐ)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack