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造繭自縛

简造茧自缚 · 繁造繭自縛

Mandarin · pinyin zào jiǎn zì fù

to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
hoist with his own petard

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Characters in this entry

造: zào · construct, build, make, begin; prepare
繭: Look up this written character
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
縛: Look up this written character
茧: jiǎn · cocoon; callus, blister
缚: fù · to tie

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–4 · zao4 jian3 zi4 fu4

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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.

造繭自縛 · find source passages ↗ · 造茧自缚 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zou6 gaan2 zi6 bok3

Cantonese word readings for 造繭自縛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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