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蛛丝马迹

zhū sī mǎ jìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. spider's thread and horse track / tiny hints (of a secret) / traces / clue
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-39b1c7758dab6735. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

蛛絲馬跡 蛛丝马迹 [zhu1 si1 ma3 ji4] /lit. spider's thread and horse track/tiny hints (of a secret)/traces/clue/

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: 蛛絲馬跡

  • 蛛
    zhū

    (bound form) spider

  • 丝
    sī

    silk / thread-like thing / (cuisine) shreds or julienne strips / classifier: a trace (of smoke etc), a tiny bit etc

  • 马
    mǎ

    horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess

    Mǎ

    surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]

  • 迹
    jì

    (bound form) trace / mark / vestige / clue / Taiwan pr. [jī] / (bound form) vestige / historical remains (variant of 跡|迹[jì])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.