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胳膊擰不過大腿

简胳膊拧不过大腿 · 繁胳膊擰不過大腿

Mandarin · pinyin gē bo nǐng bu guò dà tuǐ

(idiom) the weak cannot overcome the strong

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Characters in this entry

胳: gē · armpit, arms
膊: bó · shoulders, upper arms
擰: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
腿: tuǐ · legs, thighs
拧: níng · pinch; twist, wring; determined
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across

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

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Mandarin tones

1–5–3–5–4–4–3 · ge1 bo5 ning3 bu5 guo4 da4 tui3

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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.

胳膊擰不過大腿 · find source passages ↗ · 胳膊拧不过大腿 · 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) No amount of effort can make up for inherent weakness. The weaker cannot contend with the stronger.

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

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