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鞍前馬後

简鞍前马后 · 繁鞍前馬後

Mandarin · pinyin ān qián mǎ hòu

to follow everywhere
to always be there for sb at their beck and call

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Characters in this entry

鞍: ān · saddle; any saddle-shaped object
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
馬: Look up this written character
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · an1 qian2 ma3 hou4

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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.

鞍前馬後 · find source passages ↗ · 鞍前马后 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

on1 cin4 maa5 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 鞍前馬後. 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 follow closely and wait upon

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

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