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趁熱打鐵

简趁热打铁 · 繁趁熱打鐵

Mandarin · pinyin chèn rè dǎ tiě

to strike while the iron is hot

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Characters in this entry

趁: chèn · take advantage of, avail oneself
熱: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal
打: dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
鐵: Look up this written character
热: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal
铁: tiě · iron; strong, solid, firm

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–3 · chen4 re4 da3 tie3

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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.

趁熱打鐵 · find source passages ↗ · 趁热打铁 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

can3 jit6 daa2 tit3

Cantonese word readings for 趁熱打鐵. 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) strike while the iron is hot

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

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