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推三阻四

Mandarin · pinyin tuī sān zǔ sì

to use all sorts of excuses

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Characters in this entry

推: tuī · push, expel; push forward
三: sān · three
阻: zǔ · impede, hinder, obstruct; oppose
四: sì · four

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–4 · tui1 san1 zu3 si4

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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

teoi1 saam1 zo2 sei3

Cantonese word readings for 推三阻四. 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 find excuses to put off doing something

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

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