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争长论短

zhēng cháng lùn duǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to argue who is right and wrong (idiom) / fig. to squabble / to argue over minor issues
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-93c777a8fb660610. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

爭長論短 争长论短 [zheng1 chang2 lun4 duan3] /lit. to argue who is right and wrong (idiom)/fig. to squabble; to argue over minor issues/

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: 爭長論短

  • 争
    zhēng

    to strive for / to vie for / to argue or debate / deficient or lacking (dialect) / how or what (literary)

  • 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

  • 论
    lùn

    opinion / view / theory / doctrine / to discuss / to talk about / to regard / to consider / per / by the (kilometer, hour etc)

    Lún

    abbr. for 論語|论语[Lún yǔ], The Analects (of Confucius)

  • 短
    duǎn

    short / brief / to lack / weak point / fault

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.