喧賓奪主
简 喧宾夺主 · 繁 喧賓奪主Meanings
- lit. the voice of the guest overwhelms that of the host (idiom)
- fig. a minor player upstages the main attraction
- minor details obscure the main point
- the sauce is better than the fish
Characters in this entry
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–1–2–3 · xuan1 bin1 duo2 zhu3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
喧賓奪主 · find source passages ↗ · 喧宾夺主 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
hyun1 ban1 dyut6 zyu2
Cantonese word readings for 喧賓奪主. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) a minor issue takes precedence over a major one; a minor player upstages the main attraction
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack