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隔靴搔癢

简隔靴搔痒 · 繁隔靴搔癢

Mandarin · pinyin gé xuē sāo yǎng

lit. to scratch the outside of the boot (idiom)
fig. beside the point
ineffectual

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Characters in this entry

隔: gé · separate, partition
靴: xuē · boots
搔: sāo · to scratch
癢: Look up this written character
痒: yǎng · itch

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–1–3 · ge2 xue1 sao1 yang3

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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.

隔靴搔癢 · find source passages ↗ · 隔靴搔痒 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaak3 hoe1 sou1 joeng5

Cantonese word readings for 隔靴搔癢. 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

(idiomatic) to attempt an ineffective solution

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

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