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手到擒來

简手到擒来 · 繁手到擒來

Mandarin · pinyin shǒu dào qín lái

stretch a hand and grab it (idiom); very easy

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Characters in this entry

手: shǒu · hand
到: dào · go to, arrive, been to
擒: qín · catch, capture, seize, arrest
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–2 · shou3 dao4 qin2 lai2

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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.

手到擒來 · find source passages ↗ · 手到擒来 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau2 dou3 kam4 loi4

Cantonese word readings for 手到擒來. 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 capture someone or something or do something easily and effortlessly

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

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