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雁過拔毛

简雁过拔毛 · 繁雁過拔毛

Mandarin · pinyin yàn guò bá máo

lit. to grab feathers from a flying goose
fig. to seize any opportunity
pragmatic

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Characters in this entry

雁: yàn · wild goose
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
拔: bá · uproot, pull out
毛: máo · hair, fur, feathers; coarse
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · yan4 guo4 ba2 mao2

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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.

雁過拔毛 · find source passages ↗ · 雁过拔毛 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngaan6 gwo3 bat6 mou4

Cantonese word readings for 雁過拔毛. 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

(figuratively) to be very greedy (such that every tasks completed by that person will have some money embezzled)

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

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