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旁敲側擊

简旁敲侧击 · 繁旁敲側擊

Mandarin · pinyin páng qiāo cè jī

to make insinuations
to take an indirect approach (in making inquiries) (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

旁: páng · side; by side, close by, near
敲: qiāo · strike, beat, pound, hammer; rap
側: Look up this written character
擊: Look up this written character
侧: cè · side; incline, slant, lean
击: jī · strike, hit, beat; attack, fight

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–1 · pang2 qiao1 ce4 ji1

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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.

旁敲側擊 · find source passages ↗ · 旁敲侧击 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pong4 haau1 zak1 gik1

Cantonese word readings for 旁敲側擊. 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 express something indirectly by making oblique statements; to beat around the bush

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

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