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待價而沽

简待价而沽 · 繁待價而沽

Mandarin · pinyin dài jià ér gū

to sell only for a good price (idiom)
to wait for a good offer

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Characters in this entry

待: dài · treat, entertain, receive; wait
價: jià · price, value
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
沽: gū · buy and sell; inferior in quality
价: jià · price, value

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · dai4 jia4 er2 gu1

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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.

待價而沽 · find source passages ↗ · 待价而沽 · find source passages ↗

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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 wait for the highest bid before selling an item; to wait for the best job offer before providing one's service

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

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