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墊補

简垫补 · 繁墊補

Mandarin · pinyin diàn bu

(coll.) to cover a shortfall by using funds intended for another purpose or by borrowing some money
(coll.) to snack

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Characters in this entry

墊: Look up this written character
補: Look up this written character
垫: diàn · advance money, pay for another
补: bǔ · mend, patch, fix, repair, restore

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

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Mandarin tones

4–5 · dian4 bu5

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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.

墊補 · find source passages ↗ · 垫补 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

din6 bou2

Cantonese word readings for 墊補. 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.

verb

(colloquial) to fill a financial deficit by temporarily appropriating money from elsewhere
(Mainland China, colloquial) to have a snack to allay hunger before a regular meal

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

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