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狗咬狗

Mandarin · pinyin gǒu yǎo gǒu

dog-eat-dog
dogfight

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Characters in this entry

狗: gǒu · dog, Canis familiaris
咬: yǎo · bite, gnaw

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–3 · gou3 yao3 gou3

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) dog eat dog; ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive
(figurative) a bad person fights with another bad person

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

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