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鷸蚌相爭

简鹬蚌相争 · 繁鷸蚌相爭

Mandarin · pinyin yù bàng xiāng zhēng

abbr. for 鷸蚌相爭，漁翁得利 yù bàng xiāng zhēng, yú wēng dé lì

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Characters in this entry

鷸: Look up this written character
蚌: bàng · oysters, mussels; mother-of-pearl
相: xiāng · mutual, reciprocal, each other
爭: Look up this written character
鹬: yù · snipe, kingfisher
争: zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–1 · yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1

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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.

鷸蚌相爭 · find source passages ↗ · 鹬蚌相争 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

neot6 pong5 soeng1 zang1 · wat6 pong5 soeng1 zang1

Cantonese word readings for 鷸蚌相爭. 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) neighbors who can't agree lose out to a third party

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

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