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扼喉撫背

简扼喉抚背 · 繁扼喉撫背

Mandarin · pinyin è hóu fǔ bèi

lit. to strangle the front and press the back (idiom)
fig. to occupy all key points (military)

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Characters in this entry

扼: è · grasp, clutch; choke, strangle
喉: hóu · throat, gullet, larynx; guttural
撫: Look up this written character
背: bèi · back; back side; behind; betray
抚: fǔ · pat, console, comfort; pacify

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–4 · e4 hou2 fu3 bei4

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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.

扼喉撫背 · find source passages ↗ · 扼喉抚背 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

aak1 hau4 fu2 bui3

Cantonese word readings for 扼喉撫背. 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 hold the best strategic positions which will render the enemy helpless; to occupy all military key points

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

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