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走彎路

简走弯路 · 繁走彎路

Mandarin · pinyin zǒu wān lù

to take an indirect route
to waste one's time by using an inappropriate method

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Characters in this entry

走: zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
彎: Look up this written character
路: lù · road, path, street; journey
弯: wān · bend, curve

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–4 · zou3 wan1 lu4

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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.

走彎路 · find source passages ↗ · 走弯路 · find source passages ↗

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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

(figuratively) to waste one's time and energy because one has followed the wrong direction; to take an indirect route

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

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