pōu fù cáng zhūdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. cutting one's stomach to hide a pearl (idiom) / fig. wasting a lot of effort on trivialities
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-b5af6c3743205790. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

剖腹藏珠 剖腹藏珠 [pou1 fu4 cang2 zhu1] /lit. cutting one's stomach to hide a pearl (idiom)/fig. wasting a lot of effort on trivialities/

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.

  • 剖
    pōu

    to cut open / to analyze / Taiwan pr. [pǒu]

  • 腹
    fù

    abdomen / stomach / belly

  • 藏
    cáng

    to conceal / to hide away / to harbor / to store / to collect

    zàng

    storehouse / depository / Buddhist or Taoist scripture

    Zàng

    Tibetan ethnic group / Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xī zàng Zì zhì qū])

  • 珠
    zhū

    bead / pearl / CL:粒[lì],顆|颗[kē]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.