DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

蠢蠢欲動

简蠢蠢欲动 · 繁蠢蠢欲動

Mandarin · pinyin chǔn chǔn yù dòng

to begin to stir (idiom)
to get restless
to become threatening

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Characters in this entry

蠢: chǔn · wriggle; stupid; silly; fat
欲: yù · desire, want, long for; intend
動: dòng · move, happen; movement, action
动: dòng · move, happen; movement, action

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–4–4 · chun3 chun3 yu4 dong4

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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.

蠢蠢欲動 · find source passages ↗ · 蠢蠢欲动 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ceon2 ceon2 juk6 dung6

Cantonese word readings for 蠢蠢欲動. 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

(idiomatic) ready to start wriggling; ready to make trouble; be restless and about to make trouble

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

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