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東奔西跑

简东奔西跑 · 繁東奔西跑

Mandarin · pinyin dōng bēn xī pǎo

to run this way and that (idiom); to rush about busily
to bustle about

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Characters in this entry

東: dōng · east, eastern, eastward
奔: bēn · run fast, flee; rush about; run
西: xī · west(ern); westward; occident; Kangxi radical 146
跑: pǎo · run, flee, leave in hurry
东: dōng · east, eastern, eastward

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–1–3 · dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3

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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.

東奔西跑 · find source passages ↗ · 东奔西跑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dung1 ban1 sai1 paau2

Cantonese word readings for 東奔西跑. 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 run this way and that; to rush about busily; to rush around

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

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