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順水推舟

简顺水推舟 · 繁順水推舟

Mandarin · pinyin shùn shuǐ tuī zhōu

lit. to push the boat with the current
fig. to take advantage of the situation for one's own benefit

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Characters in this entry

順: Look up this written character
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
推: tuī · push, expel; push forward
舟: zhōu · boat, ship; Kangxi radical 137
顺: shùn · obey, submit to, go along with

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–1 · shun4 shui3 tui1 zhou1

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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.

順水推舟 · find source passages ↗ · 顺水推舟 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seon6 seoi2 teoi1 zau1

Cantonese word readings for 順水推舟. 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 do something with the prevailing climate or tendency; to take advantage of the situation

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

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