Chinese word dictionary

喧宾夺主

xuān bīn duó zhǔ · lit. the voice of the guest overwhelms that of the host (idiom); fig. a minor player upstages the main attraction; minor details obscure the main point

Practice word

Word information

Simplified喧宾夺主

Traditional喧賓奪主

Pinyinxuān bīn duó zhǔ

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

喧xuān

lively, noisy; to clamor, to talk loudly

宾bīn

guest, visitor; surname; submit

夺duó

to rob, to snatch, to take by force

主zhǔ

to own; to host; master; host; lord

How to learn 喧宾夺主

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

宾馆bīnguǎn

guesthouse; lodge; hotel; CL:個|个[ge4],家[jia1]

主要zhǔyào

main; principal; major; primary

主意zhǔyi

plan; idea; decision; CL:個|个[ge4]; Beijing pr. [zhu2 yi5]

车主chēzhǔ

vehicle owner

嘉宾jiābīn

esteemed guest; honored guest; guest (on a show)

主持zhǔchí

to take charge of; to manage or direct; to preside over; to uphold; to stand for (justice etc); to host (a TV or radio program etc); (TV) anchor