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力爭上游

简力争上游 · 繁力爭上游

Mandarin · pinyin lì zhēng shàng yóu

to strive for mastery (idiom); aiming for the best result
to have high ambitions

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Characters in this entry

力: lì · power, capability, influence; Kangxi radical 19
爭: Look up this written character
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
游: yóu · to swim; float, drift; wander, roam
争: zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–2 · li4 zheng1 shang4 you2

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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.

力爭上游 · find source passages ↗ · 力争上游 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lik6 zang1 soeng6 jau4

Cantonese word readings for 力爭上游. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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