爭長論短

简 争长论短 · 繁 爭長論短
Mandarin · pinyin zhēng cháng lùn duǎn

Meanings

  1. lit. to argue who is right and wrong (idiom)
  2. fig. to squabble; to argue over minor issues
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Characters in this entry

爭
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長
zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader; Kangxi radical 168
論
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短
duǎn · short; brief; deficient, lacking
争
zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive
长
zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader
论
lùn · debate; discuss; discourse
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · zheng1 chang2 lun4 duan3

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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.

爭長論短 · find source passages ↗ · 争长论短 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zang1 coeng4 leon6 dyun2

Cantonese word readings for 爭長論短. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

爭長論短 · zheng1 chang2 lun4 duan3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 71,378
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record爭長論短 争长论短 [zheng1 chang2 lun4 duan3] /lit. to argue who is right and wrong (idiom)/fig. to squabble; to argue over minor issues/