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原地踏步

Mandarin · pinyin yuán dì tà bù

to mark time (military)
to make no headway

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Characters in this entry

原: yuán · source, origin, beginning
地: de · dì · earth; soil, ground; region
踏: tà · step on, trample, tread on, walk
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–4 · yuan2 di4 ta4 bu4

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyun4 dei6 daap6 bou6

Cantonese word readings for 原地踏步. 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

(figurative) to make no progress; to be treading water

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

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