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略勝一籌

简略胜一筹 · 繁略勝一籌

Mandarin · pinyin lüè shèng yī chóu

slightly better
a cut above

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Characters in this entry

略: lüè · approximately, roughly; outline
勝: shèng · victory; excel, be better than
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
籌: Look up this written character
胜: shèng · victory; excel, be better than
筹: chóu · chip, tally, token; raise money

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–2 · lu:e4 sheng4 yi1 chou2

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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.

略勝一籌 · find source passages ↗ · 略胜一筹 · find source passages ↗

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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

(idiomatic) to be a notch above; to be (slightly) superior

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

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