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殺雞取卵

简杀鸡取卵 · 繁殺雞取卵

Mandarin · pinyin shā jī qǔ luǎn

lit. to kill the chicken to get the eggs (idiom)
fig. to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

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Characters in this entry

殺: Look up this written character
雞: jī · chickens; domestic fowl
取: qǔ · take, receive, obtain; select
卵: luǎn · egg; ovum; roe; spawn
杀: shā · kill, slaughter, murder; hurt
鸡: jī · chicken

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–3 · sha1 ji1 qu3 luan3

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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.

殺雞取卵 · find source passages ↗ · 杀鸡取卵 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saat3 gai1 ceoi2 leon2

Cantonese word readings for 殺雞取卵. 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

(figurative) to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
(figurative) politicians levy excessive taxes and do not hesitate to cut off the people's vitality

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

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