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漁翁之利

简渔翁之利 · 繁漁翁之利

Mandarin · pinyin yú wēng zhī lì

(idiom) the advantage gained by a third party when two sides are in conflict

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Characters in this entry

漁: Look up this written character
翁: wēng · old man; father, father-in-law
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
利: lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
渔: yú · to fish; seize; pursue; surname

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Mandarin tones

2–1–1–4 · yu2 weng1 zhi1 li4

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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.

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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) synonym of 漁人之利 /渔人之利 (yúrénzhīlì, “the benefits reaped by a third party when two sides quarrel”)

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

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