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骨鲠之臣

gǔ gěng zhī chéndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. fish bone of a minister (idiom) / fig. person one can rely on for candid criticism
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-32ec0eea975295f1. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

骨鯁之臣 骨鲠之臣 [gu3 geng3 zhi1 chen2] /lit. fish bone of a minister (idiom); fig. person one can rely on for candid criticism/

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: 骨鯁之臣

  • 骨
    gū

    used in 骨碌碌[gū lù lù] / used in 骨碌[gū lu] / used in 骨朵[gū duo]

    gǔ

    bone

  • 鲠
    gěng

    to choke on a piece of food / (literary) a fish bone lodged in one's throat

  • 之
    zhī

    (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it

  • 臣
    chén

    state official or subject in dynastic China / I, your servant (used in addressing the sovereign) / Kangxi radical 131

    Chén

    surname Chen

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.