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拆東牆補西牆

简拆东墙补西墙 · 繁拆東牆補西牆

Mandarin · pinyin chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiáng

(lit.) to tear down the east wall to repair the west wall (saying)
(fig.) to rob Peter to pay Paul

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Characters in this entry

拆: chāi · to break up, split apart, rip open; to destroy
東: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
牆: Look up this written character
補: Look up this written character
西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146
东: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
墙: qiáng · wall
补: bǔ · mend, patch, fix, repair, restore

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–3–1–2 · chai1 dong1 qiang2 bu3 xi1 qiang2

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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.

拆東牆補西牆 · find source passages ↗ · 拆东墙补西墙 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caak3 dung1 coeng4 bou2 sai1 coeng4

Cantonese word readings for 拆東牆補西牆. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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