失之交臂

shī zhī jiāo bì

Dictionary entry

to miss narrowly

What does 失之交臂 mean?

失之交臂 (shī zhī jiāo bì) has the following dictionary meaning.

1to miss narrowly

2to let a great opportunity slip

Character breakdown

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失shīto lose · to miss 之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) · him 交jiāoto hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over · to make friends 臂bìarm

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 失之交臂

失之交臂

shī zhī jiāo bì

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.