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兄弟鬩牆

简兄弟阋墙 · 繁兄弟鬩牆

Mandarin · pinyin xiōng dì xì qiáng

internecine strife (idiom); fighting among oneself

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Characters in this entry

兄: xiōng · elder brother
弟: dì · young brother; junior; I, me
鬩: Look up this written character
牆: Look up this written character
阋: xì · feud, fight, quarrel
墙: qiáng · wall

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–2 · xiong1 di4 xi4 qiang2

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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.

兄弟鬩牆 · find source passages ↗ · 兄弟阋墙 · 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.

phrase

(figurative) internal dispute

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

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