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Chinese/Dictionary entry

是骡子是马，牵出来遛遛

shì luó zi shì mǎ , qiān chū lai liù liudictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to see whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk (idiom) / fig. the proof of the pudding is in the eating / to show what one is made of
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-3f6652868583b19f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

是騾子是馬，牽出來遛遛 是骡子是马，牵出来遛遛 [shi4 luo2 zi5 shi4 ma3 , qian1 chu1 lai5 liu4 liu5] /lit. to see whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk (idiom)/fig. the proof of the pudding is in the eating/to show what one is made of/

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: 是騾子是馬，牽出來遛遛

  • 是
    shì

    to be (followed by substantives only) / correct / right / true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)

  • 骡
  • 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"

  • 是
    shì

    to be (followed by substantives only) / correct / right / true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)

  • 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]

  • 牵
    qiān

    to lead along / to pull (an animal on a tether) / (bound form) to involve / to draw in

  • 出
    chū

    to go out / to come out / to arise / to occur / to produce / to yield / to go beyond / to exceed / (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result) / classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc

  • 来
    lái

    to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[huí lai]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zì gǔ yǐ lái]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lái shì]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[dé] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tán de lái], or after 不[bù] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chī bu lái])

  • 遛
    liú

    used in 逗遛[dòu liú]

    liù

    to stroll / to walk (an animal)

  • 遛
    liú

    used in 逗遛[dòu liú]

    liù

    to stroll / to walk (an animal)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.