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螳臂當車

简螳臂当车 · 繁螳臂當車

Mandarin · pinyin táng bì dāng chē

(lit.) a mantis trying to stop a chariot (idiom)
(fig.) to overrate oneself and attempt sth impossible

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Characters in this entry

螳: táng · mantis
臂: bì · arm
當: dāng · bear, accept, undertake; just
車: chē · cart, vehicle; carry in a cart; Kangxi radical 159
当: dāng · bear, accept, undertake; just
车: chē · cart, vehicle; carry in cart

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–1 · tang2 bi4 dang1 che1

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) to overrate oneself and attempt something impossible

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

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