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Chinese/Dictionary entry

迂回曲折

yū huí qū zhédictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
meandering and circuitous (idiom) / complicated developments that never get anywhere / going around in circles
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-223ad2d50321f16f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

迂回曲折 迂回曲折 [yu1 hui2 qu1 zhe2] /meandering and circuitous (idiom); complicated developments that never get anywhere/going around in circles/

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.

  • 迂
    yū

    literal-minded / pedantic / doctrinaire / longwinded / circuitous

  • 回
    huí

    to go back / to return / to turn back / to turn around / to reply / to answer / classifier for literary divisions (acts of a play, sections or chapters of a classic book) / classifier for occurrences or times / to curve / to return / to revolve

    Huí

    Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims)

  • 曲
    qū

    bent / crooked / wrong / fermentation starter / leaven (molds, yeasts or bacteria used in fermenting soy products or brewing etc) / Taiwan pr. [qú]

    qǔ

    tune / song / CL:支[zhī]

    Qū

    surname Qu

  • 折
    shé

    to snap / to break (a stick, a bone etc) / (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business)

    zhē

    to turn sth over / to turn upside down / to tip sth out (of a container)

    zhé

    to break / to fracture / to snap / to suffer loss / to bend / to twist / to turn / to change direction / convinced / to convert into (currency) / discount / rebate / tenth (in price) / classifier for theatrical scenes / to fold / accounts book

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.