DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

窮鼠嚙狸

简穷鼠啮狸 · 繁窮鼠嚙狸

Mandarin · pinyin qióng shǔ niè lí

a desperate rat will bite the fox (idiom); the smallest worm will turn being trodden on

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Characters in this entry

窮: Look up this written character
鼠: shǔ · rat, mouse; Kangxi radical 208
嚙: Look up this written character
狸: lí · fox
穷: qióng · poor, destitute, impoverished
啮: niè · bite, gnaw

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–2 · qiong2 shu3 nie4 li2

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