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懸樑刺股

简悬梁刺股 · 繁懸樑刺股

Mandarin · pinyin xuán liáng cì gǔ

to study assiduously and tirelessly (idiom)
see also 頭懸梁，錐刺股 tóu xuán liáng, zhuī cì gǔ

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Characters in this entry

懸: Look up this written character
樑: Look up this written character
刺: cì · stab; prick, irritate; prod
股: gǔ · thighs, haunches, rump; share
悬: xuán · hang, suspend, hoist; be hung
梁: liáng · bridge; beam; rafters; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–3 · xuan2 liang2 ci4 gu3

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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.

懸樑刺股 · find source passages ↗ · 悬梁刺股 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyun4 loeng4 ci3 gu2

Cantonese word readings for 懸樑刺股. 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) to study diligently

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

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