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東一榔頭西一棒子

简东一榔头西一棒子 · 繁東一榔頭西一棒子

Mandarin · pinyin dōng yī láng tóu xī yī bàng zi

banging away clumsily in all directions with no overall vision

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Characters in this entry

東: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
榔: láng · betel-nut tree
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146
棒: bàng · stick, club, truncheon; hit
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
东: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–2–1–1–4–5 · dong1 yi1 lang2 tou2 xi1 yi1 bang4 zi5

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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.

東一榔頭西一棒子 · find source passages ↗ · 东一榔头西一棒子 · find source passages ↗

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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

(figurative) doing things without clear organisation or objective

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

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