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矬子里拔将军

cuó zi lǐ bá jiāng jūndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to choose a general among the dwarves (idiom) / fig. to pick the best out of a bad group
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-2e7d763fcb29dfc2. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

矬子裡拔將軍 矬子里拔将军 [cuo2 zi5 li3 ba2 jiang1 jun1] /lit. to choose a general among the dwarves (idiom)/fig. to pick the best out of a bad group/

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: 矬子裡拔將軍

  • 矬
    cuó

    short / dwarfish

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 里
    lǐ

    lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 裏|里[lǐ] / li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮|镇[zhèn] and neighborhood 鄰|邻[lín] levels

    Lǐ

    surname Li

  • 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

  • 将
    jiāng

    will / shall / to use / to take / to checkmate / just a short while ago / (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[bǎ])

    jiàng

    (bound form) a general / (literary) to command / to lead / (Chinese chess) general (on the black side, equivalent to a king in Western chess)

    qiāng

    to desire / to invite / to request

  • 军
    jūn

    (bound form) army / military

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.