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矮子裡拔將軍

简矮子里拔将军 · 繁矮子裡拔將軍

Mandarin · pinyin ǎi zi li bá jiāng jūn

lit. choose a general from among the dwarfs
fig. choose the best person available (out of a mediocre bunch)

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Characters in this entry

矮: ǎi · short, dwarf; low
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
裡: Look up this written character
拔: bá · uproot, pull out
將: Look up this written character
軍: Look up this written character
里: lǐ · unit of distance; village; lane; Kangxi radical 166
将: jiāng · will, going to, future; general
军: jūn · army, military; soldiers, troops

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

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Mandarin tones

3–5–5–2–1–1 · ai3 zi5 li5 ba2 jiang1 jun1

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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.

矮子裡拔將軍 · find source passages ↗ · 矮子里拔将军 · 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

(figuratively) to choose the best one among people which are not good

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

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