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隔岸觀火

简隔岸观火 · 繁隔岸觀火

Mandarin · pinyin gé àn guān huǒ

to watch the fires burning across the river
to delay entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

隔: gé · separate, partition
岸: àn · bank, shore; beach, coast
觀: Look up this written character
火: huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage
观: guān · see, observe, view; appearance

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–3 · ge2 an4 guan1 huo3

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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.

隔岸觀火 · find source passages ↗ · 隔岸观火 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaak3 ngon6 gun1 fo2

Cantonese word readings for 隔岸觀火. 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 delay entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves

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

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