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赶鸭子上架

gǎn yā zi shàng jiàdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to drive a duck onto a perch (idiom) / fig. to push sb to do sth way beyond their ability
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-9c08316574016cbe. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

趕鴨子上架 赶鸭子上架 [gan3 ya1 zi5 shang4 jia4] /lit. to drive a duck onto a perch (idiom)/fig. to push sb to do sth way beyond their ability/

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: 趕鴨子上架

  • 赶
    gǎn

    to overtake / to catch up with / to hurry / to rush / to try to catch (the bus etc) / to drive (cattle etc) forward / to drive (sb) away / to avail oneself of (an opportunity) / until / by (a certain time)

  • 鸭
    yā

    duck (CL:隻|只[zhī]) / (slang) male prostitute

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 上
    shǎng

    used in 上聲|上声[shǎng shēng]

    shàng

    (bound form) up / upper / above / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on / above

  • 架
    jià

    to support / frame / rack / framework / classifier for planes, large vehicles, radios etc

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.