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尺有所短，寸有所长

chǐ yǒu suǒ duǎn , cùn yǒu suǒ chángdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. for some things a foot may be too short, and for the other an inch will suffice (proverb) / fig. everyone has their strong and weak points / everything has its advantages and disadvantages
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-4d14a6e140e9b707. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

尺有所短，寸有所長 尺有所短，寸有所长 [chi3 you3 suo3 duan3 , cun4 you3 suo3 chang2] /lit. for some things a foot may be too short, and for the other an inch will suffice (proverb)/fig. everyone has their strong and weak points/everything has its advantages and disadvantages/

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: 尺有所短，寸有所長

  • 尺
    chě

    one of the characters used to represent a musical note in gongche notation, 工尺譜|工尺谱[gōng chě pǔ]

    chǐ

    a Chinese foot / one-third of a meter / a ruler / a tape-measure / one of the three acupoints for measuring pulse in Chinese medicine / CL:支[zhī],把[bǎ]

  • 有
    yǒu

    to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)

  • 所
    suǒ

    actually / place / classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc / that which / particle introducing a relative clause or passive / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 短
    duǎn

    short / brief / to lack / weak point / fault

  • 寸
    cùn

    a unit of length / inch / thumb

  • 有
    yǒu

    to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)

  • 所
    suǒ

    actually / place / classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc / that which / particle introducing a relative clause or passive / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 长
    cháng

    long / (bound form) length / (bound form) strong point / forte / (bound form) to be good at / (literary) surplus / spare (Taiwan pr. [zhàng])

    zhǎng

    chief / head / elder / to grow / to develop / to increase / to enhance

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.