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得魚忘筌

简得鱼忘筌 · 繁得魚忘筌

Mandarin · pinyin dé yú wàng quán

lit. catch fish then forget the trap (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子 Zhuāng zǐ); fig. to take help for granted

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Characters in this entry

得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
魚: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
忘: wàng · forget; neglect; miss, omit
筌: quán · bamboo fish trap
鱼: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–2 · de2 yu2 wang4 quan2

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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.

得魚忘筌 · find source passages ↗ · 得鱼忘筌 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dak1 jyu4 mong4 cyun4

Cantonese word readings for 得魚忘筌. 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

(figurative) those who have attained enlightenment forget their physical form
(figurative) once achieved the goal then forget the means relied on to achieved the goal

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

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