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雁过拔毛

yàn guò bá máodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to grab feathers from a flying goose / fig. to seize any opportunity / pragmatic
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-27f094f4212a5b89. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

雁過拔毛 雁过拔毛 [yan4 guo4 ba2 mao2] /lit. to grab feathers from a flying goose/fig. to seize any opportunity/pragmatic/

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: 雁過拔毛

  • 雁
    yàn

    wild goose

  • 过
    guò

    to cross / to go over / to pass (time) / to celebrate (a holiday) / to live / to get along / excessively / too-

    guo

    (experienced action marker)

    Guō

    surname Guo

  • 拔
    bá

    to pull up / to pull out / to draw out by suction / to select / to pick / to stand out (above level) / to surpass / to seize

  • 毛
    máo

    hair / feather / down / wool / mildew / mold / coarse or semifinished / young / raw / careless / unthinking / nervous / scared / (of currency) to devalue or depreciate / classifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = 角[jiǎo] , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen 分[fēn])

    Máo

    surname Mao

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.