DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

扒高踩低

Mandarin · pinyin pá gāo cǎi dī

crawl high, step low (idiom); unprincipled crawling, flattering one's superiors and trampling on one's juniors
toadying and bullying

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

扒: bā · scratch; dig up; crawl; crouch
高: gāo · high, tall; lofty, elevated; Kangxi radical 189
踩: cǎi · step on
低: dī · low; to lower, hang, bend, bow

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–1–3–1 · pa2 gao1 cai3 di1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

扒高踩低 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

paa4 gou1 caai2 dai1

Cantonese word readings for 扒高踩低. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack