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虎毒不食子

hǔ dú bù shí zǐdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
a tiger, though cruel, will not devour its cubs (idiom) / even wild beasts look after their young
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-fc18e062f5d0bc96. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

虎毒不食子 虎毒不食子 [hu3 du2 bu4 shi2 zi3] /a tiger, though cruel, will not devour its cubs (idiom)/even wild beasts look after their young/

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.

  • 虎
    hǔ

    tiger / CL:隻|只[zhī]

  • 毒
    dú

    poison / to poison / poisonous / malicious / cruel / fierce / narcotics

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 食
    shí

    to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse

    sì

    to feed (a person or animal)

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.