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積穀防饑

简积谷防饥 · 繁積穀防饑

Mandarin · pinyin jī gǔ fáng jī

storing grain against a famine
to lay sth by for a rainy day
also written 積穀防飢

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Characters in this entry

積: Look up this written character
穀: Look up this written character
防: fáng · defend; prevent; embankment
饑: Look up this written character
积: jī · accumulate, store up, amass
谷: gǔ · valley, gorge, ravine; Kangxi radical 150
饥: jī · hunger, starving; hungry; a famine

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2–1 · ji1 gu3 fang2 ji1

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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.

積穀防饑 · find source passages ↗ · 积谷防饥 · 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 save for a rainy day

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

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