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窃国者侯，窃钩者诛

qiè guó zhě hóu , qiè gōu zhě zhūdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
steal the whole country and they make you a prince, steal a hook and they hang you (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
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-ad3f04862fcb3cfd. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

竊國者侯，竊鉤者誅 窃国者侯，窃钩者诛 [qie4 guo2 zhe3 hou2 , qie4 gou1 zhe3 zhu1] /steal the whole country and they make you a prince, steal a hook and they hang you (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3])/

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: 竊國者侯，竊鉤者誅

  • 窃
    qiè

    to steal / secretly / (humble) I

  • 国
    guó

    country / nation / state / (bound form) national

    Guó

    surname Guo

  • 者
    zhě

    (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 後|后[hòu] or 前[qián] to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this

  • 侯
    hóu

    marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / nobleman / high official

    hòu

    used in 閩侯|闽侯[Mǐn hòu] (the name of a place in Fujian)

    Hóu

    surname Hou

  • 窃
    qiè

    to steal / secretly / (humble) I

  • 钩
    gōu

    to hook / to sew / to crochet / hook / check mark or tick / window catch

  • 者
    zhě

    (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 後|后[hòu] or 前[qián] to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this

  • 诛
    zhū

    to put (a criminal) to death / to punish

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.