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犬马之劳

quǎn mǎ zhī láodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. the service of a dog or a horse (idiom) / fig. faithful service
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-b8ab392a7a379072. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

犬馬之勞 犬马之劳 [quan3 ma3 zhi1 lao2] /lit. the service of a dog or a horse (idiom)/fig. faithful service/

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: 犬馬之勞

  • 犬
    quǎn

    (literary) dog / Kangxi radical 94

  • 马
    mǎ

    horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess

    Mǎ

    surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]

  • 之
    zhī

    (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it

  • 劳
    láo

    (bound form) to toil / labor / (bound form) laborer / (bound form) meritorious deed / (bound form) fatigue / to put sb to the trouble (of doing sth) / (bound form) to express appreciation for sb's efforts (Taiwan pr. [lào])

    Láo

    surname Lao

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.