擦 边

cā biāndictionary entry

to make light contact with the edge of sth / (fig.) to be nearly (a certain age) / to be close to (danger) / (fig.) to push the boundaries of what is acceptable / to operate in a gray area / (Internet slang) sexually suggestive / provocative while skirting platform rules or censorship

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-b98f0391e7c6b561. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

擦邊 擦边 [ca1 bian1] /to make light contact with the edge of sth/(fig.) to be nearly (a certain age); to be close to (danger)/(fig.) to push the boundaries of what is acceptable; to operate in a gray area/(Internet slang) sexually suggestive; provocative while skirting platform rules or censorship/

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: 擦邊

擦
cā
to rub / to scratch / to wipe / to polish / to apply (lipstick, lotion etc) / to brush (past) / to shred (a vegetable etc)
边
biān
side / edge / margin / border / boundary / CL:個|个[gè] / simultaneously
bian
suffix of a noun of locality

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.