DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

甕中捉鱉

简瓮中捉鳖 · 繁甕中捉鱉

Mandarin · pinyin wèng zhōng zhuō biē

(lit.) to catch a turtle in a jar (idiom)
(fig.) to go after easy prey

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

甕: Look up this written character
中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
捉: zhuō · grasp, clutch; catch, seize
鱉: Look up this written character
瓮: wèng · earthen jar; jar for ashes
鳖: biē · turtle

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–1–1–1 · weng4 zhong1 zhuo1 bie1

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.

甕中捉鱉 · find source passages ↗ · 瓮中捉鳖 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ung3 zung1 zuk3 bit3

Cantonese word readings for 甕中捉鱉. 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) to catch or arrest a target already within one's grasp (and cannot escape)

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

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