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隔靴搔痒

gé xuē sāo yǎng

4-character word Traditional 隔靴搔癢

What 隔靴搔痒 means

1. lit. to scratch the outside of the boot (idiom)
2. fig. beside the point
3. ineffectual

The characters in 隔靴搔痒

• 隔géto separate; to partition; to stand or lie between
• 靴xuēboots
• 搔sāoto scratch; old variant of 骚
• 痒yǎngto itch; to tickle

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read gé xuē sāo yǎng correctly.
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