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膽小如鼠

简胆小如鼠 · 繁膽小如鼠

Mandarin · pinyin dǎn xiǎo rú shǔ

(idiom) chicken-hearted; gutless

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Characters in this entry

膽: Look up this written character
小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
鼠: shǔ · rat, mouse; Kangxi radical 208
胆: dǎn · gall bladder; bravery, courage

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2–3 · dan3 xiao3 ru2 shu3

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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.

膽小如鼠 · find source passages ↗ · 胆小如鼠 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daam2 siu2 jyu4 syu2

Cantonese word readings for 膽小如鼠. 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.

phrase

(simile) to be timid as a mouse; to be very timid

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

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