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投機取巧

简投机取巧 · 繁投機取巧

Mandarin · pinyin tóu jī qǔ qiǎo

to gain advantage by any means, fair or foul; to be opportunistic; to be full of tricks

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Characters in this entry

投: tóu · throw, cast, fling, pitch; jump
機: Look up this written character
取: qǔ · take, receive, obtain; select
巧: qiǎo · skillful, ingenious, clever
机: jī · desk; machine; moment

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–3 · tou2 ji1 qu3 qiao3

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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.

投機取巧 · find source passages ↗ · 投机取巧 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be opportunistic

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

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