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猴子偷桃

Mandarin · pinyin hóu zi tōu táo

"monkey steals the peach" (martial arts), distracting an opponent with one hand and seizing his testicles with the other
(coll.) grabbing sb by the balls

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Characters in this entry

猴: hóu · monkey, ape; monkey-like
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
偷: tōu · to steal, burglar, thief
桃: táo · peach; marriage; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

2–5–1–2 · hou2 zi5 tou1 tao2

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hau4 zi2 tau1 tou4

Cantonese word readings for 猴子偷桃. 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

(martial arts) a martial arts move that strikes an opponent's testicles.
(idiomatic) a cheap shot

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

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