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勾肩搭背

Mandarin · pinyin gōu jiān dā bèi

(idiom) arms around each other's shoulders

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Characters in this entry

勾: gōu · hook, join, connect; entice
肩: jiān · shoulders; to shoulder; bear
搭: dā · join together, attach to; add to
背: bèi · back; back side; behind; betray

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–1–4 · gou1 jian1 da1 bei4

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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.

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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 throw one's arm around someone's shoulder; (figuratively) to be on intimate terms with one another

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

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