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損公肥私

简损公肥私 · 繁損公肥私

Mandarin · pinyin sǔn gōng féi sī

to damage the public interest for personal profit (idiom); personal profit at public expense
venal and selfish behavior

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Characters in this entry

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公: gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
肥: féi · fat, plump, obese; fertile
私: sī · private, personal; secret
损: sǔn · diminish; impair; injure

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–2–1 · sun3 gong1 fei2 si1

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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 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

syun2 gung1 fei4 si1

Cantonese word readings for 損公肥私. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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