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雕蟲小技

简雕虫小技 · 繁雕蟲小技

Mandarin · pinyin diāo chóng xiǎo jì

insignificant talent
skill of no high order
minor accomplishment

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Characters in this entry

雕: diāo · engrave, inlay, carve; exhaust; (same as 鵰) an eagle, vulture
蟲: chóng · worms; insects
小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
技: jì · skill, ability, talent, ingenuity
虫: chóng · insects, worms; Kangxi radical 142

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · diao1 chong2 xiao3 ji4

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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.

雕蟲小技 · find source passages ↗ · 雕虫小技 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

diu1 cung4 siu2 gei6

Cantonese word readings for 雕蟲小技. 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) insignificant talent; minor accomplishment

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

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