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攔路虎

简拦路虎 · 繁攔路虎

Mandarin · pinyin lán lù hǔ

stumbling block

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Characters in this entry

攔: Look up this written character
路: lù · road, path, street; journey
虎: hǔ · tiger; brave, fierce; surname
拦: lán · obstruct, impede, bar, hinder

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–3 · lan2 lu4 hu3

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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.

攔路虎 · find source passages ↗ · 拦路虎 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(literally, historical) street robber
(figuratively) stumbling block; obstacle
(figuratively) unrecognized word

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

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