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繞彎子

简绕弯子 · 繁繞彎子

Mandarin · pinyin rào wān zi

lit. to go on a long detour
fig. to speak vaguely around the topic without getting to the point
to beat about the bush

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Characters in this entry

繞: Look up this written character
彎: Look up this written character
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
绕: rào · entwine; wind around; surround
弯: wān · bend, curve

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–5 · rao4 wan1 zi5

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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.

繞彎子 · find source passages ↗ · 绕弯子 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jiu5 waan1 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 繞彎子. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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.

verb

to go the long way round; to detour
(figurative) to speak in a roundabout way; to beat about the bush; to hum and haw

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

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