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炒魷魚

简炒鱿鱼 · 繁炒魷魚

Mandarin · pinyin chǎo yóu yú

(coll.) to fire sb
to sack sb

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Characters in this entry

炒: chǎo · fry, saute, roast, boil, cook
魷: Look up this written character
魚: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
鱿: yóu · cuttlefish
鱼: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–2 · chao3 you2 yu2

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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.

炒魷魚 · find source passages ↗ · 炒鱿鱼 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caau2 jau4 jyu2

Cantonese word readings for 炒魷魚. 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.

verb

(literally) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 炒 (chǎo), 魷魚 /鱿鱼 (yóuyú).
(figurative, slang) to sack someone; to fire someone

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

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