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爭名奪利

简争名夺利 · 繁爭名奪利

Mandarin · pinyin zhēng míng duó lì

to fight for fame, grab profit (idiom); scrambling for fame and wealth
only interested in personal gain

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Characters in this entry

爭: Look up this written character
名: míng · name, rank, title, position
奪: Look up this written character
利: lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
争: zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive
夺: duó · take by force, rob, snatch

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–4 · zheng1 ming2 duo2 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.

爭名奪利 · find source passages ↗ · 争名夺利 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zang1 ming4 dyut6 lei6

Cantonese word readings for 爭名奪利. 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

(idiomatic) to scramble for fame and wealth

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

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