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Chinese/Dictionary entry

蜻蜓撼石柱

qīng tíng hàn shí zhùdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. the dragon-fly shakes the stone tower (idiom) / fig. to overestimate one's capabilities
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-67a84570e4279747. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

蜻蜓撼石柱 蜻蜓撼石柱 [qing1 ting2 han4 shi2 zhu4] /lit. the dragon-fly shakes the stone tower (idiom); fig. to overestimate one's capabilities/

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.

  • 蜻
    qīng

    see 蜻蜓[qīng tíng]

  • 蜓
    tíng

    see 蜻蜓[qīng tíng]

  • 撼
    hàn

    to shake / to vibrate

  • 石
    dàn

    dry measure for grain equal to ten dou 斗[dǒu] / one hundred liters / ancient pr. [shí]

    shí

    rock / stone / stone inscription / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]

    Shí

    surname Shi / abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shí jiā zhuāng], the capital of Hebei

  • 柱
    zhù

    pillar / CL:根[gēn]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.