DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

蚊子再小也是肉

Mandarin · pinyin wén zi zài xiǎo yě shì ròu

lit. even a mosquito, though tiny, provides some nourishment (idiom)
fig. it's better than nothing

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

蚊: wén · mosquito; gnat
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
再: zài · again, twice, re-
小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
也: yě · also; classical final particle of strong affirmation or identity
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
肉: ròu · flesh; meat; Kangxi radical 130

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–5–4–3–3–4–4 · wen2 zi5 zai4 xiao3 ye3 shi4 rou4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

7character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

蚊子再小也是肉 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗