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打狗还得看主人

dǎ gǒu hái děi kàn zhǔ réndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. when one beats a dog, one must answer to its master (idiom) / fig. before punishing sb, one should consider how that would affect others associated with him
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-4867dc67b44819c7. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

打狗還得看主人 打狗还得看主人 [da3 gou3 hai2 dei3 kan4 zhu3 ren2] /lit. when one beats a dog, one must answer to its master (idiom)/fig. before punishing sb, one should consider how that would affect others associated with him/

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: 打狗還得看主人

  • 打
    dá

    (loanword) dozen / Taiwan pr. [dǎ]

    dǎ

    to hit / to strike / to fight / (in many expressions) a semantically light transitive verb used with various objects to form expressions with a wide range of meanings, e.g. 打傘|打伞[dǎ sǎn] "to hold an umbrella", 打電話|打电话[dǎ diàn huà] "to make a phone call", 打針|打针[dǎ zhēn] "to get an injection" / (coll.) from / since

  • 狗
  • 还
    hái

    still / still in progress / still more / yet / even more / in addition / fairly / passably (good) / as early as / even / also / else

    huán

    to pay back / to return

    Huán

    surname Huan

  • 得
    dé

    to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished

    dè

    used in 得瑟[dè se]

    de

    structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc

    děi

    to have to / must / ought to / to need to

  • 看
    kān

    to look after / to take care of / to watch / to guard

    kàn

    to see / to look at / to read / to watch / to visit / to call on / to consider / to regard as / to look after / to treat (a patient or illness) / to depend on / to feel (that) / (after a verb) to give it a try / to watch out for

  • 主
    zhǔ

    owner / master / host / individual or party concerned / God / Lord / main / to indicate or signify / trump card (in card games)

  • 人

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.