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偷香竊玉

简偷香窃玉 · 繁偷香竊玉

Mandarin · pinyin tōu xiāng qiè yù

lit. stolen scent, pilfered jade (idiom); philandering
secret illicit sex

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Characters in this entry

偷: tōu · to steal, burglar, thief
香: xiāng · fragrant, sweet-smelling; incense; Kangxi radical 186
竊: Look up this written character
玉: yù · jade, precious stone, gem
窃: qiè · secretly, stealthily; steal; thief

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · tou1 xiang1 qie4 yu4

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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.

偷香竊玉 · find source passages ↗ · 偷香窃玉 · find source passages ↗

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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.

noun

(idiomatic) love affair; philandering, secret illicit sex

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

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