DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

瓜田李下

Mandarin · pinyin guā tián lǐ xià

abbr. for 瓜田不納履，李下不整冠 guā tián bù nà lǚ, lǐ xià bù zhěng guān

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

瓜: guā · melon, gourd, cucumber; Kangxi radical 97
田: tián · field, arable land, cultivated
李: lǐ · plum; judge; surname
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · gua1 tian2 li3 xia4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

瓜田李下 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwaa1 tin4 lei5 haa6

Cantonese word readings for 瓜田李下. 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 position that invites suspicion; suspicious circumstances or surroundings

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack