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Chinese/Dictionary entry

难以捉摸

nán yǐ zhuō mōdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
elusive / hard to pin down / enigmatic
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-b28b93e066939fc6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

難以捉摸 难以捉摸 [nan2 yi3 zhuo1 mo1] /elusive/hard to pin down/enigmatic/

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: 難以捉摸

  • 难
    nán

    difficult (to...) / problem / difficulty / difficult / not good

    nàn

    disaster / distress / to scold

  • 以
    yǐ

    to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)

    Yǐ

    abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yǐ sè liè]

  • 捉
    zhuō

    to clutch / to grab / to capture

  • 摸
    mō

    to feel with the hand / to touch / to stroke / to grope / to steal / to abstract

    mó

    See the full entry for source details.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.