DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

拆東補西

简拆东补西 · 繁拆東補西

Mandarin · pinyin chāi dōng bǔ xī

lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient
Rob Peter to pay Paul

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

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

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–3–1 · chai1 dong1 bu3 xi1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

拆東補西 · find source passages ↗ · 拆东补西 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caak3 dung1 bou2 sai1

Cantonese word readings for 拆東補西. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack