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羊毛出在羊身上

Mandarin · pinyin yáng máo chū zài yáng shēn shàng

lit. wool comes from the sheep's back (idiom); One gets the benefit, but the price has been paid.
Nothing comes for free.

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Characters in this entry

羊: yáng · sheep, goat; Kangxi radical 123
毛: máo · hair, fur, feathers; coarse
出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
在: zài · be at, in, on; consist in, rest
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4–2–1–4 · yang2 mao2 chu1 zai4 yang2 shen1 shang4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

joeng4 mou4 ceot1 zoi6 joeng4 san1 soeng6

Cantonese word readings for 羊毛出在羊身上. 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.

proverb

the benefits come from oneself; there's no such thing as a free lunch

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

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