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哪壺不開提哪壺

简哪壶不开提哪壶 · 繁哪壺不開提哪壺

Mandarin · pinyin nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú

lit. mention the pot that doesn't boil (idiom); to touch a sore spot
to talk about sb's weak point

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Characters in this entry

哪: nǎ · which? where? how?
壺: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
提: tí · hold in hand; lift in hand
壶: hú · jar, pot, jug, vase; surname
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–1–2–3–2 · na3 hu2 bu4 kai1 ti2 na3 hu2

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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.

哪壺不開提哪壺 · find source passages ↗ · 哪壶不开提哪壶 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naa5 wu4 bat1 hoi1 tai4 naa5 wu4

Cantonese word readings for 哪壺不開提哪壺. 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

(idiomatic) to air somebody's dirty laundry
(idiomatic) to blurt out somebody's weakness
(idiomatic) to let somebody's skeletons out of the closet

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack