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涸轍之鮒

简涸辙之鲋 · 繁涸轍之鮒

Mandarin · pinyin hé zhé zhī fù

lit. a fish in a dried-out rut (idiom)
fig. a person in dire straits

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Characters in this entry

涸: hé · dried up; exhausted, tired; dry
轍: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
鮒: Look up this written character
辙: zhé · wagon ruts, wheel tracks
鲋: fù · carp, Carassius auratus

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · he2 zhe2 zhi1 fu4

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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.

涸轍之鮒 · find source passages ↗ · 涸辙之鲋 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

kok3 cit3 zi1 fu6

Cantonese word readings for 涸轍之鮒. 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) a person in a desperate situation; a person in a tight spot

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

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