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投鼠忌器

Mandarin · pinyin tóu shǔ jì qì

lit. to refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases (idiom)
to not act against an evil so as to prevent harm to innocents

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Characters in this entry

投: tóu · throw, cast, fling, pitch; jump
鼠: shǔ · rat, mouse; Kangxi radical 208
忌: jì · jealous, envious; fear
器: qì · receptacle, vessel; instrument

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–4 · tou2 shu3 ji4 qi4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tau4 syu2 gei6 hei3

Cantonese word readings for 投鼠忌器. 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 be doubtful about acting against an evil

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

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