DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
鷸蚌相爭,漁翁得利
简 鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利 · 繁 鷸蚌相爭,漁翁得利Mandarin · pinyin yù bàng xiāng zhēng , yú wēng dé lì
Meanings
- lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom)
- fig. when two sides are locked in dispute, it's often a third party that benefits
Characters in this entry
- 鷸
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- 蚌
- bàng · oysters, mussels; mother-of-pearl
- 相
- xiāng · mutual, reciprocal, each other
- 爭
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- 漁
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- 翁
- wēng · old man; father, father-in-law
- 得
- dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
- 利
- lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
- 鹬
- yù · snipe, kingfisher
- 争
- zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive
- 渔
- yú · to fish; seize; pursue; surname
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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,漁翁得利 · find source passages ↗ · 鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利 · find source passages ↗