DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

磕頭如搗蒜

简磕头如捣蒜 · 繁磕頭如搗蒜

Mandarin · pinyin kē tóu rú dǎo suàn

(idiom) to kowtow repeatedly and rapidly (esp. when pleading for mercy)

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Characters in this entry

磕: kē · hit; collide, knock into; sound
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
搗: Look up this written character
蒜: suàn · garlic
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
捣: dǎo · hull; thresh; beat, attack

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–3–4 · ke1 tou2 ru2 dao3 suan4

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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.

磕頭如搗蒜 · find source passages ↗ · 磕头如捣蒜 · find source passages ↗

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