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魚死網破

简鱼死网破 · 繁魚死網破

Mandarin · pinyin yú sǐ wǎng pò

lit. either the fish dies or the net splits
a life and death struggle (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

魚: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
死: sǐ · die; dead; death
網: Look up this written character
破: pò · break, ruin, destroy; rout
鱼: yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
网: wǎng · net; network; Kangxi radical 122

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–3–4 · yu2 si3 wang3 po4

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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.

魚死網破 · find source passages ↗ · 鱼死网破 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyu4 sei2 mong5 po3

Cantonese word readings for 魚死網破. 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 fight till both you and your foe perish

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

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