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吆五喝六

Mandarin · pinyin yāo wǔ hè liù

lit. to shout out hoping for fives and sixes when gambling with dice; a hubbub of gambling

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Characters in this entry

吆: yāo · bawl, yell, shout, cry out
五: wǔ · five; surname
喝: hē · drink; shout, call out
六: liù · number six

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4–4 · yao1 wu3 he4 liu4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to shout when gambling
(idiomatic) to shout loudly and overbearingly

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

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