牽一髮而動全身
简 牵一发而动全身 · 繁 牽一髮而動全身Meanings
- lit. pulling a single hair makes the whole body move (idiom)
- fig. a small change in one part can affect the whole system
Characters in this entry
- 牽
- Look up this written character
- 一
- yī · one; a, an; alone
- 髮
- fà · fǎ · hair
- 而
- ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
- 動
- dòng · move, happen; movement, action
- 全
- quán · maintain, keep whole or intact
- 身
- shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
- 牵
- qiān · drag, pull, lead by hand
- 发
- fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair
- 动
- dòng · move, happen; movement, action
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–1–4–2–4–2–1 · qian1 yi1 fa4 er2 dong4 quan2 shen1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
牽一髮而動全身 · find source passages ↗ · 牵一发而动全身 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
hin1 jat1 faat3 ji4 dung6 cyun4 san1
Cantonese word readings for 牽一髮而動全身. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) A slight change will affect everything else.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack