DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

束手束腳

简束手束脚 · 繁束手束腳

Mandarin · pinyin shù shǒu shù jiǎo

(idiom) restricted; constrained; inhibited

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Characters in this entry

束: shù · bind, control, restrain; bale
手: shǒu · hand
腳: jiǎo · foot; base, leg, foundation
脚: jiǎo · leg, foot; base, leg, foundation

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–3 · shu4 shou3 shu4 jiao3

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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.

束手束腳 · find source passages ↗ · 束手束脚 · find source passages ↗

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