鷸 (yù) - snipe (a type of wading bird) & to hesitate or be cautious.

鷸Tone 4

yù ｜ 23 strokes ｜ radical:

喻悦

鷸 · yù

snipe (a type of wading bird);

to hesitate or be cautious.

snipe (a type of wading bird)to hesitate or be cautious.

Usage highlights

snipe and clam grapplesnipe birdsandpiperwoodcockcurlewto hesitate

Synonyms

  • 猶豫— to hesitate, to be indecisive (shares the meaning of caution/hesitation)

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • A snipe is a long-billed wading bird (鷸鳥).
  • The snipe and the clam grapple to the fisherman's profit (鷸蚌相爭).
  • He hesitated and missed the opportunity (猶豫不決).

Collocations

  • snipe and clam grapple(鷸蚌相爭)
  • snipe bird(鷸鳥)
  • sandpiper (a type of snipe)(磯鷸)
  • woodcock (another type of snipe)(山鷸)
  • curlew (another type of snipe)(杓鷸)
  • to hesitate(猶豫)

Idioms

  • When the snipe and the clam grapple, it is the fisherman who profits(鷸蚌相爭，漁翁得利)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character is most famously used in the idiom 'When the snipe and the clam grapple, it is the fisherman who profits,' which warns against internal conflict that allows a third party to benefit.
  • In ornithology, 鷸 refers to birds in the family Scolopacidae, commonly known as sandpipers, snipes, and curlews.
  • The character is rarely used in modern Chinese outside of the idiom and ornithological contexts.

FAQ