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蹬鼻子上臉

简蹬鼻子上脸 · 繁蹬鼻子上臉

Mandarin · pinyin dēng bí zi shàng liǎn

lit. to climb all over sb
fig. to take advantage of sb's weakness

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Characters in this entry

蹬: dēng · dèng · step on, tread on; lose energy
鼻: bí · nose; first; Kangxi radical 209
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
臉: liǎn · face; cheek; reputation
脸: liǎn · face; cheek; reputation

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–5–4–3 · deng1 bi2 zi5 shang4 lian3

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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.

蹬鼻子上臉 · find source passages ↗ · 蹬鼻子上脸 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dang1 bei6 zi2 soeng5 lim5

Cantonese word readings for 蹬鼻子上臉. 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

(figurative) to go too far (by taking a mile after being given an inch)

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

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