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抱大腿

Mandarin · pinyin bào dà tuǐ

(coll.) to cling to sb influential or famous

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Characters in this entry

抱: bào · embrace, hold in arms, enfold
大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
腿: tuǐ · legs, thighs

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3 · bao4 da4 tui3

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

(idiomatic, derogatory) to be obsequious and fawn on (someone); to curry favour with people of power and influence

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

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