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拿手好戲

简拿手好戏 · 繁拿手好戲

Mandarin · pinyin ná shǒu hǎo xì

the role an actor plays best (idiom)
(fig.) one's specialty
one's forte

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Characters in this entry

拿: ná · take, hold, grasp; bring; with
手: shǒu · hand
好: hǎo · good, excellent, fine; well
戲: Look up this written character
戏: xì · theatrical play, show

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–3–4 · na2 shou3 hao3 xi4

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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.

拿手好戲 · find source passages ↗ · 拿手好戏 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naa4 sau2 hou2 hei3

Cantonese word readings for 拿手好戲. 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) one's forte

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

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