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挑毛剔刺

Mandarin · pinyin tiāo máo tī cì

to find fault
to carp
nitpicking

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Characters in this entry

挑: tiāo · a load carried on the shoulders; to carry
毛: máo · hair, fur, feathers; coarse
剔: tī · pick out; scrape off; scrape meat
刺: cì · stab; prick, irritate; prod

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · tiao1 mao2 ti1 ci4

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tiu1 mou4 tik1 ci3

Cantonese word readings for 挑毛剔刺. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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