捉刀

Chinese

		to clutch; to grab; to capture	knife
simp. and trad. (捉刀)		捉	刀

Etymology

From an anecdote in the Shishuo Xinyu:

魏武將見匈奴使。自以形陋，不足雄遠國，使崔季珪代，帝自捉刀立床頭。既畢，令間諜問曰：「魏王何如？」匈奴使答曰：「魏王雅望非常，然床頭捉刀人，此乃英雄也。」魏武聞之，追殺此使。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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魏武将见匈奴使。自以形陋，不足雄远国，使崔季珪代，帝自捉刀立床头。既毕，令间谍问曰：「魏王何如？」匈奴使答曰：「魏王雅望非常，然床头捉刀人，此乃英雄也。」魏武闻之，追杀此使。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5^th century CE

Wèi Wǔ jiāng jiàn Xiōngnú shǐ. Zì yǐ xínglòu, bùzú xióng yuǎnguó, shǐ Cuī Jìguī dài, Dì zì zhuōdāo lì chuángtóu. Jì bì, lìng jiàndié wènyuē: “Wèi Wáng hérú?” Xiōngnú shǐ dáyuē: “Wèi Wáng yǎwàng fēicháng, rán chuángtóu zhuōdāorén, cǐnǎi yīngxióng yě.” Wèi Wǔ wén zhī, zhuīshā cǐ shǐ. [Pinyin]

Emperor Wu of Wei was about to receive an envoy from Xiongnu. Concerned that his appearance was too plain to project awe into the foreign minds, Emperor Wu made Cui Jigui his substitute, and he himself stood on guard by the seat-couch wielding a sword in disguise. After the ceremony, he had a spy ask the envoy: "How do you think of the Prince of Wei?" The envoy replied: "The Prince's demeanour was extraordinarily refined, but the swordsman beside his seat — that man was a hero." On hearing this, Emperor Wu ordered the envoy chased down and killed.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhuōdāo

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄨㄛ ㄉㄠ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhuōdāo
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨㄛ ㄉㄠ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhuodao
    • Wade–Giles: cho¹-tao¹
    • Yale: jwō-dāu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: juodau
    • Palladius: чжодао (čžodao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: tsraewk taw

Rime
Character	捉	刀
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	莊 (18)	端 (5)
Final (韻)	覺 (10)	豪 (89)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	I
Fanqie	側角切	都勞切
Baxter	tsraewk	taw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ʃˠʌk̚/	/tɑu/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈ͡ʂᵚɔk̚/	/tɑu/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ʃɔk̚/	/tɑu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈ͡ʂaɨwk̚/	/taw/
Li Rong	/t͡ʃɔk̚/	/tɑu/
Wang Li	/t͡ʃɔk̚/	/tɑu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʈ͡ʂɔk̚/	/tɑu/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhuo	dāo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zok3	dou1

Verb

捉刀

1. (figurative) to write for someone else; to ghostwrite

Synonyms

• 代筆／代笔 (dàibǐ)

Derived terms

• 捉刀手 (zhuōdāoshǒu)