See 騎驢找馬 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
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{
"form": "骑驴找马",
"raw_tags": [
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}
],
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"lang": "Chinese",
"lang_code": "zh",
"literal_meaning": "to ride on a donkey and look for a horse",
"pos": "phrase",
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"english": "“We’re riding a donkey while looking for a horse,” Mr. Ye said, using a Chinese idiom about making do.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Traditional Chinese"
],
"ref": "2025 April 14, Vivian Wang, “北京希望靠國內消費打贏貿易戰，但現實並不樂觀 [China Says Its Own Consumers Will Save the Day. But They’re Not Buying.]”, in The New York Times:",
"roman": "“xiànzài jīběnshàng dōushì qílǘzhǎomǎ,” Yè Yì yòng le yīge zhōngguó chéngyǔ lái xíngróng mùqián de quányízhījì.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "「現在基本上都是騎驢找馬，」葉毅用了一個中國成語來形容目前的權宜之計。",
"type": "quote"
},
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"english": "“We’re riding a donkey while looking for a horse,” Mr. Ye said, using a Chinese idiom about making do.",
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"ref": "2025 April 14, Vivian Wang, “北京希望靠國內消費打贏貿易戰，但現實並不樂觀 [China Says Its Own Consumers Will Save the Day. But They’re Not Buying.]”, in The New York Times:",
"roman": "“xiànzài jīběnshàng dōushì qílǘzhǎomǎ,” Yè Yì yòng le yīge zhōngguó chéngyǔ lái xíngróng mùqián de quányízhījì.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "「现在基本上都是骑驴找马，」叶毅用了一个中国成语来形容目前的权宜之计。",
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"english": "The story tells the story of Dayo Wong played Tao Sheng, originally a wedding banquet planner, after the epidemic and economic downturn, he reluctantly switched to the funeral industry, this somewhat black humor setting, in addition to extremely smartly combined with Dayo Wong's usual stand-up comedy image (intelligent sarcasm, with \"face rebuke indecent\" implicit), more importantly, earthy, catering to Hong Kong's economic transformation, unemployed or riding a cow to find a horse (riding a donkey to find a horse) of people's livelihood.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Traditional Chinese"
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"ref": "2024 November 29, 李照興, “《破．地獄》破記錄：城市更需破地獄，影院作為公共空間如何提供香港情緒出口 [The Last Dance breaks records: Cities need to break hell, how cinemas as public spaces provide an emotional outlet for Hong Kong]”, in Initium Media:",
"roman": "Gùshì jiǎngshù Huáng Zǐhuá shìyǎn de Dàoshēng, yuán wéi hūnyàn cèhuà, yìqíng hé jīngjì xiàxíng hòu, tā wúnài zhuǎnháng dào bìnzàng yè, zhè yǒudiǎn hēisè yōumò de shèdìng, chú jí cōngmíng de jiéhé le Huáng Zǐhuá xiànglái de dòngdǔxiào xíngxiàng (yǒu zhìhuì de wākǔ, jù “miànchì bùyǎ” de hánxù), gèng zhòngyào shì jiēdìqì, yínghé le Xiānggǎng jīngjì zhuǎnxíng xià, shīyè huò ke⁴ngau⁴wan²maa⁵ (qílǘzhǎomǎ) de mínshēng bǎitài.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "故事講述黃子華飾演的道生，原為婚宴策劃，疫情和經濟下行後，他無奈轉行到殯葬業，這有點黑色幽默的設定，除極聰明地結合了黃子華向來的棟篤笑形象（有智慧的挖苦，具「面斥不雅」的含蓄），更重要是接地氣，迎合了香港經濟轉型下，失業或騎牛搵馬（騎驢找馬）的民生百態。",
"type": "quote"
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"english": "The story tells the story of Dayo Wong played Tao Sheng, originally a wedding banquet planner, after the epidemic and economic downturn, he reluctantly switched to the funeral industry, this somewhat black humor setting, in addition to extremely smartly combined with Dayo Wong's usual stand-up comedy image (intelligent sarcasm, with \"face rebuke indecent\" implicit), more importantly, earthy, catering to Hong Kong's economic transformation, unemployed or riding a cow to find a horse (riding a donkey to find a horse) of people's livelihood.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
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],
"ref": "2024 November 29, 李照興, “《破．地獄》破記錄：城市更需破地獄，影院作為公共空間如何提供香港情緒出口 [The Last Dance breaks records: Cities need to break hell, how cinemas as public spaces provide an emotional outlet for Hong Kong]”, in Initium Media:",
"roman": "Gùshì jiǎngshù Huáng Zǐhuá shìyǎn de Dàoshēng, yuán wéi hūnyàn cèhuà, yìqíng hé jīngjì xiàxíng hòu, tā wúnài zhuǎnháng dào bìnzàng yè, zhè yǒudiǎn hēisè yōumò de shèdìng, chú jí cōngmíng de jiéhé le Huáng Zǐhuá xiànglái de dòngdǔxiào xíngxiàng (yǒu zhìhuì de wākǔ, jù “miànchì bùyǎ” de hánxù), gèng zhòngyào shì jiēdìqì, yínghé le Xiānggǎng jīngjì zhuǎnxíng xià, shīyè huò ke⁴ngau⁴wan²maa⁵ (qílǘzhǎomǎ) de mínshēng bǎitài.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "故事讲述黄子华饰演的道生，原为婚宴策划，疫情和经济下行后，他无奈转行到殡葬业，这有点黑色幽默的设定，除极聪明地结合了黄子华向来的栋笃笑形象（有智慧的挖苦，具「面斥不雅」的含蓄），更重要是接地气，迎合了香港经济转型下，失业或骑牛揾马（骑驴找马）的民生百态。",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"to settle for what one has for the moment (e.g. job, girlfriend, etc.) while actively looking for something better"
],
"id": "en-騎驢找馬-zh-phrase-cFJjAtUx",
"links": [
[
"settle",
"settle"
],
[
"moment",
"moment"
],
[
"job",
"job"
],
[
"girlfriend",
"girlfriend"
],
[
"actively",
"actively"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figurative, colloquial) to settle for what one has for the moment (e.g. job, girlfriend, etc.) while actively looking for something better"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"roman": "ke4 ngau4 wan2 maa5",
"tags": [
"Cantonese"
],
"word": "騎牛搵馬"
},
{
"roman": "ke4 ngau4 wan2 maa5",
"tags": [
"Cantonese"
],
"word": "骑牛揾马"
}
],
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"figuratively",
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Pinyin"
],
"zh-pron": "qílǘzhǎomǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"bopomofo"
],
"zh-pron": "ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄩˊ ㄓㄠˇ ㄇㄚˇ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Hanyu-Pinyin",
"Mandarin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "qílǘzhǎomǎ [Phonetic:qílǘzháomǎ]"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"bopomofo",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄩˊ ㄓㄠˇ ㄇㄚˇ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Tongyong-Pinyin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "cílyújhǎomǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Wade-Giles",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chʻi²-lü²-chao³-ma³"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Yale",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chí-lyú-jǎu-mǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
"Mandarin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chyiliujaomaa"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Palladius",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "цилюйчжаома"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Palladius",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "ciljujčžaoma"
},
{
"ipa": "/t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ly³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/",
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Sinological-IPA",
"standard"
]
},
{
"other": "[Phonetic: qílǘzháomǎ]"
},
{
"ipa": "/t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ly³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/"
}
],
"word": "騎驢找馬"
}
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "骑驴找马",
"raw_tags": [
"Simplified Chinese"
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}
],
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"2": "idiom"
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"expansion": "騎驢找馬",
"name": "head"
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"lang_code": "zh",
"literal_meaning": "to ride on a donkey and look for a horse",
"pos": "phrase",
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{
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"Chinese chengyu",
"Chinese colloquialisms",
"Chinese entries with incorrect language header",
"Chinese idioms",
"Chinese lemmas",
"Chinese terms spelled with 找",
"Chinese terms spelled with 馬",
"Chinese terms spelled with 騎",
"Chinese terms spelled with 驢",
"Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation",
"Mandarin chengyu",
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"english": "“We’re riding a donkey while looking for a horse,” Mr. Ye said, using a Chinese idiom about making do.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Traditional Chinese"
],
"ref": "2025 April 14, Vivian Wang, “北京希望靠國內消費打贏貿易戰，但現實並不樂觀 [China Says Its Own Consumers Will Save the Day. But They’re Not Buying.]”, in The New York Times:",
"roman": "“xiànzài jīběnshàng dōushì qílǘzhǎomǎ,” Yè Yì yòng le yīge zhōngguó chéngyǔ lái xíngróng mùqián de quányízhījì.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "「現在基本上都是騎驢找馬，」葉毅用了一個中國成語來形容目前的權宜之計。",
"type": "quote"
},
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"english": "“We’re riding a donkey while looking for a horse,” Mr. Ye said, using a Chinese idiom about making do.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Simplified Chinese"
],
"ref": "2025 April 14, Vivian Wang, “北京希望靠國內消費打贏貿易戰，但現實並不樂觀 [China Says Its Own Consumers Will Save the Day. But They’re Not Buying.]”, in The New York Times:",
"roman": "“xiànzài jīběnshàng dōushì qílǘzhǎomǎ,” Yè Yì yòng le yīge zhōngguó chéngyǔ lái xíngróng mùqián de quányízhījì.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "「现在基本上都是骑驴找马，」叶毅用了一个中国成语来形容目前的权宜之计。",
"type": "quote"
},
{
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391,
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"english": "The story tells the story of Dayo Wong played Tao Sheng, originally a wedding banquet planner, after the epidemic and economic downturn, he reluctantly switched to the funeral industry, this somewhat black humor setting, in addition to extremely smartly combined with Dayo Wong's usual stand-up comedy image (intelligent sarcasm, with \"face rebuke indecent\" implicit), more importantly, earthy, catering to Hong Kong's economic transformation, unemployed or riding a cow to find a horse (riding a donkey to find a horse) of people's livelihood.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Traditional Chinese"
],
"ref": "2024 November 29, 李照興, “《破．地獄》破記錄：城市更需破地獄，影院作為公共空間如何提供香港情緒出口 [The Last Dance breaks records: Cities need to break hell, how cinemas as public spaces provide an emotional outlet for Hong Kong]”, in Initium Media:",
"roman": "Gùshì jiǎngshù Huáng Zǐhuá shìyǎn de Dàoshēng, yuán wéi hūnyàn cèhuà, yìqíng hé jīngjì xiàxíng hòu, tā wúnài zhuǎnháng dào bìnzàng yè, zhè yǒudiǎn hēisè yōumò de shèdìng, chú jí cōngmíng de jiéhé le Huáng Zǐhuá xiànglái de dòngdǔxiào xíngxiàng (yǒu zhìhuì de wākǔ, jù “miànchì bùyǎ” de hánxù), gèng zhòngyào shì jiēdìqì, yínghé le Xiānggǎng jīngjì zhuǎnxíng xià, shīyè huò ke⁴ngau⁴wan²maa⁵ (qílǘzhǎomǎ) de mínshēng bǎitài.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "故事講述黃子華飾演的道生，原為婚宴策劃，疫情和經濟下行後，他無奈轉行到殯葬業，這有點黑色幽默的設定，除極聰明地結合了黃子華向來的棟篤笑形象（有智慧的挖苦，具「面斥不雅」的含蓄），更重要是接地氣，迎合了香港經濟轉型下，失業或騎牛搵馬（騎驢找馬）的民生百態。",
"type": "quote"
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488,
519
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391,
401
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[
116,
120
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],
"english": "The story tells the story of Dayo Wong played Tao Sheng, originally a wedding banquet planner, after the epidemic and economic downturn, he reluctantly switched to the funeral industry, this somewhat black humor setting, in addition to extremely smartly combined with Dayo Wong's usual stand-up comedy image (intelligent sarcasm, with \"face rebuke indecent\" implicit), more importantly, earthy, catering to Hong Kong's economic transformation, unemployed or riding a cow to find a horse (riding a donkey to find a horse) of people's livelihood.",
"raw_tags": [
"MSC",
"Simplified Chinese"
],
"ref": "2024 November 29, 李照興, “《破．地獄》破記錄：城市更需破地獄，影院作為公共空間如何提供香港情緒出口 [The Last Dance breaks records: Cities need to break hell, how cinemas as public spaces provide an emotional outlet for Hong Kong]”, in Initium Media:",
"roman": "Gùshì jiǎngshù Huáng Zǐhuá shìyǎn de Dàoshēng, yuán wéi hūnyàn cèhuà, yìqíng hé jīngjì xiàxíng hòu, tā wúnài zhuǎnháng dào bìnzàng yè, zhè yǒudiǎn hēisè yōumò de shèdìng, chú jí cōngmíng de jiéhé le Huáng Zǐhuá xiànglái de dòngdǔxiào xíngxiàng (yǒu zhìhuì de wākǔ, jù “miànchì bùyǎ” de hánxù), gèng zhòngyào shì jiēdìqì, yínghé le Xiānggǎng jīngjì zhuǎnxíng xià, shīyè huò ke⁴ngau⁴wan²maa⁵ (qílǘzhǎomǎ) de mínshēng bǎitài.",
"tags": [
"Pinyin"
],
"text": "故事讲述黄子华饰演的道生，原为婚宴策划，疫情和经济下行后，他无奈转行到殡葬业，这有点黑色幽默的设定，除极聪明地结合了黄子华向来的栋笃笑形象（有智慧的挖苦，具「面斥不雅」的含蓄），更重要是接地气，迎合了香港经济转型下，失业或骑牛揾马（骑驴找马）的民生百态。",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"to settle for what one has for the moment (e.g. job, girlfriend, etc.) while actively looking for something better"
],
"links": [
[
"settle",
"settle"
],
[
"moment",
"moment"
],
[
"job",
"job"
],
[
"girlfriend",
"girlfriend"
],
[
"actively",
"actively"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figurative, colloquial) to settle for what one has for the moment (e.g. job, girlfriend, etc.) while actively looking for something better"
],
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"figuratively",
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Pinyin"
],
"zh-pron": "qílǘzhǎomǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"bopomofo"
],
"zh-pron": "ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄩˊ ㄓㄠˇ ㄇㄚˇ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Hanyu-Pinyin",
"Mandarin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "qílǘzhǎomǎ [Phonetic:qílǘzháomǎ]"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"bopomofo",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "ㄑㄧˊ ㄌㄩˊ ㄓㄠˇ ㄇㄚˇ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Tongyong-Pinyin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "cílyújhǎomǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Wade-Giles",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chʻi²-lü²-chao³-ma³"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Yale",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chí-lyú-jǎu-mǎ"
},
{
"tags": [
"Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
"Mandarin",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "chyiliujaomaa"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Palladius",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "цилюйчжаома"
},
{
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Palladius",
"standard"
],
"zh-pron": "ciljujčžaoma"
},
{
"ipa": "/t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ly³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/",
"tags": [
"Mandarin",
"Sinological-IPA",
"standard"
]
},
{
"other": "[Phonetic: qílǘzháomǎ]"
},
{
"ipa": "/t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ly³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"roman": "ke4 ngau4 wan2 maa5",
"tags": [
"Cantonese"
],
"word": "騎牛搵馬"
},
{
"roman": "ke4 ngau4 wan2 maa5",
"tags": [
"Cantonese"
],
"word": "骑牛揾马"
}
],
"word": "騎驢找馬"
}
Download raw JSONL data for 騎驢找馬 meaning in Chinese (8.0kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Chinese dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.