道 高 一 尺，魔 高 一 丈

dào gāo yī chǐ , mó gāo yī zhàngdictionary entry

(saying) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil; no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises

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-a343d85f03a3759b. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

道高一尺，魔高一丈 道高一尺，魔高一丈 [dao4 gao1 yi1 chi3 , mo2 gao1 yi1 zhang4] /(saying) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil; no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises/

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Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

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Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.