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操斧伐柯

Mandarin · pinyin cāo fǔ fá kē

(cf Book of Songs) How to fashion an ax handle? You need an ax
fig. to follow a principle
fig. to act as matchmaker

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Characters in this entry

操: cāo · conduct, run, control, manage
斧: fǔ · axe, hatchet; chop, hew
伐: fá · cut down, subjugate, attack
柯: kē · axe-handle; stalk, bough; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2–1 · cao1 fu3 fa2 ke1

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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

cou1 fu2 fat6 o1

Cantonese word readings for 操斧伐柯. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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