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捅馬蜂窩

简捅马蜂窝 · 繁捅馬蜂窩

Mandarin · pinyin tǒng mǎ fēng wō

(fig.) to stir up a hornet's nest

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Characters in this entry

捅: tǒng · jab
馬: Look up this written character
蜂: fēng · bee, wasp, hornet
窩: Look up this written character
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
窝: wō · nest; cave, den; hiding place

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–1 · tong3 ma3 feng1 wo1

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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.

捅馬蜂窩 · find source passages ↗ · 捅马蜂窝 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tung2 maa5 fung1 wo1

Cantonese word readings for 捅馬蜂窩. 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.

verb

(literally and figuratively) to stir up a hornets' nest

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

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