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刨根問底

简刨根问底 · 繁刨根問底

Mandarin · pinyin páo gēn wèn dǐ

to dig up roots and inquire at the base (idiom); to get to the bottom of sth

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Characters in this entry

刨: páo · carpenter's plane; plane, level
根: gēn · root, base(d on); foundation
問: wèn · ask (about), inquire after
底: dǐ · bottom, underneath, underside
问: wèn · ask about, inquire after

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · pao2 gen1 wen4 di3

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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.

刨根問底 · find source passages ↗ · 刨根问底 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

paau4 gan1 man6 dai2

Cantonese word readings for 刨根問底. 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 get to the bottom of something

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

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