qiāo mén zhuāndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. a brick as a door knocker (idiom); fig. a temporary expedient / to use sb as a stepping stone to fortune
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-a4281695940bc43b. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

敲門磚 敲门砖 [qiao1 men2 zhuan1] /lit. a brick as a door knocker (idiom); fig. a temporary expedient/to use sb as a stepping stone to fortune/

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: 敲門磚

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.