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狼狽為奸

简狼狈为奸 · 繁狼狽為奸

Mandarin · pinyin láng bèi wéi jiān

villains collude together (idiom); to work hand in glove with sb (to nefarious ends)

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Characters in this entry

狼: láng · wolf
狽: Look up this written character
為: Look up this written character
奸: jiān · crafty, villainous, false
狈: bèi · a legendary animal with short forelegs which rode a wolf
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–1 · lang2 bei4 wei2 jian1

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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.

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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

(figurative) to act in collusion with each other; to work hand in glove with somebody (to nefarious ends)

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

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