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捷足先登

Mandarin · pinyin jié zú xiān dēng

the quick-footed climb up first (idiom)
the early bird catches the worm
first come, first served

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Characters in this entry

捷: jié · win, victory, triumph
足: zú · foot; attain, satisfy, enough; Kangxi radical 156
先: xiān · first, former, previous
登: dēng · rise, mount, board, climb

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–1 · jie2 zu2 xian1 deng1

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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

zit3 zuk1 sin1 dang1

Cantonese word readings for 捷足先登. 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 take the first step; to act early on; to beat to the punch; the early bird gets the worm

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

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