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集腋成裘

Mandarin · pinyin jí yè chéng qiú

many hairs make a fur coat (idiom); many small contributions add up to sth big
many a mickle makes a muckle

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Characters in this entry

集: jí · assemble, collect together
腋: yè · armpit
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
裘: qiú · fur garments; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–2 · ji2 ye4 cheng2 qiu2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zaap6 jik6 sing4 kau4

Cantonese word readings for 集腋成裘. 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) many small contributions add up to something big; many a mickle makes a muckle

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

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