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多此一舉

简多此一举 · 繁多此一舉

Mandarin · pinyin duō cǐ yī jǔ

to do more than is required (idiom); superfluous
gilding the lily

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Characters in this entry

多: duō · much, many; more than, over
此: cǐ · this, these; in this case, then
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
舉: Look up this written character
举: jǔ · raise, lift up; recommend

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–1–3 · duo1 ci3 yi1 ju3

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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.

多此一舉 · find source passages ↗ · 多此一举 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

do1 ci2 jat1 geoi2

Cantonese word readings for 多此一舉. 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) an extraneous move; a useless action

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

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