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挑燈撥火

简挑灯拨火 · 繁挑燈撥火

Mandarin · pinyin tiǎo dēng bō huǒ

to sow discord
to provoke

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Characters in this entry

挑: tiāo · a load carried on the shoulders; to carry
燈: dēng · lantern, lamp
撥: Look up this written character
火: huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage
灯: dēng · lantern, lamp
拨: bō · move; dispel; distribute

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–1–3 · tiao3 deng1 bo1 huo3

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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.

挑燈撥火 · find source passages ↗ · 挑灯拨火 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tiu1 dang1 but6 fo2

Cantonese word readings for 挑燈撥火. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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