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關門打狗

简关门打狗 · 繁關門打狗

Mandarin · pinyin guān mén dǎ gǒu

lit. shut the door and beat the dog (idiom)
fig. seal off the enemy's avenue of retreat, then strike hard

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Characters in this entry

關: Look up this written character
門: mén · gate, door, entrance, opening; Kangxi radical 169
打: dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
狗: gǒu · dog, Canis familiaris
关: guān · frontier pass; close; relation
门: mén · gate, door, entrance, opening

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · guan1 men2 da3 gou3

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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.

關門打狗 · find source passages ↗ · 关门打狗 · 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to take control of someone in one's sphere of influence and proceed to attack in a highly effective way

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

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