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抱殘守缺

简抱残守缺 · 繁抱殘守缺

Mandarin · pinyin bào cán shǒu quē

to cherish the outmoded and preserve the outworn (idiom); conservative
stickler for tradition

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Characters in this entry

抱: bào · embrace, hold in arms, enfold
殘: Look up this written character
守: shǒu · defend, protect, guard, conserve
缺: quē · be short of, lack; gap, deficit
残: cán · injure, spoil; oppress; broken

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–1 · bao4 can2 shou3 que1

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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.

抱殘守缺 · find source passages ↗ · 抱残守缺 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pou5 caan4 sau2 kyut3

Cantonese word readings for 抱殘守缺. 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 conservative and not receptive to new things; to be a stickler for ancient ways and things
(idiomatic) to be faithful to ancient ways and things
(idiomatic) to keep working under bad conditions

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

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