DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

拆臺

简拆台 · 繁拆臺

Mandarin · pinyin chāi tái

(theater) to dismantle the stage
(fig.) to pull the rug out from under sb's feet; to undermine sb's plans

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

拆: chāi · to break up, split apart, rip open; to destroy
臺: Look up this written character
台: tái · platform; unit; term of address

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2 · chai1 tai2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character 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.

拆臺 · find source passages ↗ · 拆台 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caak3 toi4

Cantonese word readings for 拆臺. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

(chiefly Mainland China, figurative) to cut the ground from under someone's feet; to pull the rug out from under someone's feet

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack