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討好

简讨好 · 繁討好

Mandarin · pinyin tǎo hǎo

to get the desired outcome
to win favor by fawning on sb
to curry favor with
a fruitful outcome to reward one's labor

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Characters in this entry

討: Look up this written character
好: hǎo · good, excellent, fine; well
讨: tǎo · to discuss; ask for, beg; demand; dun; marry

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · tao3 hao3

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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.

討好 · find source passages ↗ · 讨好 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tou2 hou2

Cantonese word readings for 討好. 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.

verb

to ingratiate oneself with; to please; to court; to curry favour with
(chiefly in the negative) to be rewarded with a good result; to have one's labour rewarded

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

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