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沐猴而冠

Mandarin · pinyin mù hóu ér guàn

lit. a monkey wearing a hat (idiom)
fig. worthless person in imposing attire

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Characters in this entry

沐: mù · bathe, cleanse, wash, shampoo
猴: hóu · monkey, ape; monkey-like
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
冠: guān · cap, crown, headgear

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4 · mu4 hou2 er2 guan4

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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.

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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) worthless person in imposing attire

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

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