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拔刀相助

Mandarin · pinyin bá dāo xiāng zhù

see 路見不平，拔刀相助 lù jiàn bù píng, bá dāo xiāng zhù

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Characters in this entry

拔: bá · uproot, pull out
刀: dāo · knife; old coin; measure
相: xiāng · mutual, reciprocal, each other
助: zhù · help, aid, assist

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–1–4 · ba2 dao1 xiang1 zhu4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat6 dou1 soeng1 zo6

Cantonese word readings for 拔刀相助. 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 intervene in an injustice; to rush to the rescue

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

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