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避重就轻

bì zhòng jiù qīngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial / to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1e872b7eb9a9dffa. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

避重就輕 避重就轻 [bi4 zhong4 jiu4 qing1] /to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial/to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 避重就輕

  • 避
    bì

    to avoid / to shun / to flee / to escape / to keep away from / to leave / to hide from

  • 重
    chóng

    to repeat / repetition / again / re- / classifier: layer

    zhòng

    heavy / serious / to attach importance to

  • 就
    jiù

    (after a suppositional clause) in that case / then / (after a clause of action) as soon as / immediately after / (same as 就是[jiù shì]) merely / nothing else but / simply / just / precisely / exactly / only / as little as / as much as / as many as / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / (often followed by 著|着[zhe]) taking advantage of / (of food) to go with / with regard to / concerning / (bound form) to reach / to attain (as in 一蹴而就[yī cù ér jiù]) / (pattern: 就[jiù] ... 也[yě] ...) even if ... still ... / (pattern: 不[bù] ... 就[jiù] ...) if not ... then must be ...

  • 轻
    qīng

    light / easy / gentle / soft / reckless / unimportant / frivolous / small in number / unstressed / neutral / to disparage

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.