探驪得珠

简 探骊得珠 · 繁 探驪得珠
Mandarin · pinyin tàn lí dé zhū

Meanings

  1. to pluck a pearl from the black dragon (idiom, from Zhuangzi); fig. to pick out the salient points (from a tangled situation)
  2. to see through to the nub
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Characters in this entry

探
tàn · find, locate; search, grope for
驪
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得
dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
珠
zhū · precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl
骊
lí · a pure black horse; a pair of horses
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–1 · tan4 li2 de2 zhu1

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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.

探驪得珠 · find source passages ↗ · 探骊得珠 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taam3 lei4 dak1 zyu1

Cantonese word readings for 探驪得珠. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

探驪得珠 · tan4 li2 de2 zhu1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 47,893
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record探驪得珠 探骊得珠 [tan4 li2 de2 zhu1] /to pluck a pearl from the black dragon (idiom, from Zhuangzi); fig. to pick out the salient points (from a tangled situation)/to see through to the nub/