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切磋琢磨

qiē cuō zhuó módictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. cutting and polishing (idiom) / fig. to learn by exchanging ideas or experiences
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-904cf915c7bd7507. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

切磋琢磨 切磋琢磨 [qie1 cuo1 zhuo2 mo2] /lit. cutting and polishing (idiom)/fig. to learn by exchanging ideas or experiences/

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.

  • 切
    qiē

    to cut / to slice / to carve / (math.) tangential

    qiè

    definitely / absolutely (not) / (scoffing or dismissive interjection) Yeah, right. / Tut! / to grind / (bound form) close to / (bound form) eager / to correspond to / (used to indicate that the fanqie 反切[fǎn qiè] system should be applied to the previous two characters)

  • 磋
    cuō

    (old) to polish bones, horns, ivory etc into tools / (bound form) to deliberate / to consult

  • 琢
    zhuó

    to cut (gems)

    zuó

    used in 琢磨[zuó mo] / Taiwan pr. [zhuó]

  • 磨
    mó

    to rub / to grind / to polish / to sharpen / to wear down / to die out / to waste time / to pester / to insist

    mò

    grindstone / to grind / to turn round

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.