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開小灶

简开小灶 · 繁開小灶

Mandarin · pinyin kāi xiǎo zào

to give preferential treatment
to give special attention

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Characters in this entry

開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
灶: zào · kitchen stove, cooking stove
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4 · kai1 xiao3 zao4

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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.

開小灶 · find source passages ↗ · 开小灶 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to cook specially (for someone); to cook better food (for someone) as a privilege
(figurative) to bestow special favours (on someone); to give preferential treatment

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

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