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卸磨殺驢

简卸磨杀驴 · 繁卸磨殺驢

Mandarin · pinyin xiè mò shā lǘ

lit. to kill the donkey when the grinding is done (idiom)
fig. to get rid of sb once he has ceased to be useful

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Characters in this entry

卸: xiè · lay down; retire from office
磨: mó · grind; polish; rub; wear out; a millstone
殺: Look up this written character
驢: Look up this written character
杀: shā · kill, slaughter, murder; hurt
驴: lǘ · donkey, ass

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–2 · xie4 mo4 sha1 lu:2

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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.

卸磨殺驢 · find source passages ↗ · 卸磨杀驴 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

se3 mo4 saat3 leoi4

Cantonese word readings for 卸磨殺驢. 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

(figuratively) to get rid of somebody, or something, or both, upon ceasing to be useful

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

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