子 zǐ son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3deng3 jue2wei4] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub- syn 毒品 dú pǐn drugs / narcotics / poison syn 老鼠 lǎo shǔ rat / mouse (CL:隻|只[zhi1]) syn 毒气 毒氣 dú qì poison gas / toxic gas / manifestation of passion, anger etc (Buddhism) syn 毒药 毒藥 dú yào poison syn 耗子 hào zi (dialect) mouse / rat syn 下毒 xià dú to put poison in sth / to poison syn 毒物 dú wù poisonous substance / poison syn 毒害 dú hài to harm (sb's health) with narcotics etc / to poison (people's minds) / to corrupt / pernicious influence syn 慢性 màn xìng slow and patient / chronic (disease) / slow to take effect (e.g. a slow poison) syn 毒剂 毒劑 dú jì a poison / a toxic agent / poison gas / a chemical weapon 施放 shī fàng to fire / to discharge / to release (fireworks, smokescreen, poison gas, virus etc) syn 落汤鸡 落湯雞 luò tāng jī a person who looks drenched and bedraggled / like a drowned rat / deep distress syn 服毒 fú dú to take poison 毒气弹 毒氣彈 dú qì dàn poison gas shell / poison gas grenade 放毒 fàng dú to poison / (fig.) to spread vicious rumors syn 流毒 liú dú to spread poison / pernicious influence syn 排毒 pái dú to expel poison (from the system) / to detox 大鼠 dà shǔ rat 下药 下藥 xià yào to prescribe medicine / to poison / to slip a drug (into sb's drink etc) syn 毒针 毒針 dú zhēn to inject poison 小白鼠 xiǎo bái shǔ white mouse / lab mouse / lab rat / (fig.) human guinea pig 抱头鼠窜 抱頭鼠竄 bào tóu shǔ cuàn to cover one's head and sneak away like a rat (idiom) / to flee ignominiously syn 内鬼 內鬼 nèi guǐ mole / spy / rat / traitor 饮鸩止渴 飲鴆止渴 yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě lit. drinking poison in the hope of quenching one's thirst (idiom) / fig. a supposed remedy that only makes matters worse syn 啮齿 嚙齒 niè chǐ a rodent (rat, rabbit etc) 药 藥 yào medicine / drug / substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting) / CL:種|种[zhong3],服[fu4],味[wei4] / to poison syn 毒 dú poison / to poison / poisonous / malicious / cruel / fierce / narcotics syn 鼠 shǔ (bound form) rat / mouse syn 冬 鼕 dōng (onom.) beating a drum / rat-a-tat syn 蛊 蠱 gǔ arch. legendary venomous insect / to poison / to bewitch / to drive to insanity / to harm by witchcraft / intestinal parasite 以毒攻毒 yǐ dú gōng dú to cure ills with poison (TCM) / to fight evil with evil / set a thief to catch a thief / to fight fire with fire 鸩 鴆 zhèn legendary bird whose feathers can be used as poison / poisonous / to poison sb syn 鼠窜 鼠竄 shǔ cuàn to scamper off / to scurry off like a frightened rat 蜂毒 fēng dú wasp poison 内卷 內捲 nèi juǎn (embryology) to involute / involution / (neologism c. 2017) (of a society) to become more and more of a rat race / to become increasingly competitive (due to limited resources) 毒化 dú huà to poison (usu. figuratively) / to debase / to pervert / to harm syn 鼠年 shǔ nián Year of the Rat (e.g. 2008) 毒腺 dú xiàn poison gland 酖 zhèn poisonous / to poison 投鼠忌器 tóu shǔ jì qì lit. to refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases (idiom) / to not act against an evil so as to prevent harm to innocents 社鼠城狐 shè shǔ chéng hú lit. rat in a country shrine, fox on town walls / fig. unprincipled thugs who abuse others' power to bully and exploit people 穷鼠啮狸 窮鼠嚙狸 qióng shǔ niè lí a desperate rat will bite the fox (idiom) / the smallest worm will turn being trodden on 无毒不丈夫 無毒不丈夫 wú dú bù zhàng fu no poison, no great man (idiom) / A great man has to be ruthless. 屠毒 tú dú poison / to murder by poison 印鼠客蚤 yìn shǔ kè zǎo oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) 子鼠 zǐ shǔ Year 1, year of the Rat (e.g. 2008) 打小报告 打小報告 dǎ xiǎo bào gào (coll.) to tattletale / to rat on sb 抱头鼠蹿 抱頭鼠躥 bào tóu shǔ cuān to cover one's head and sneak away like a rat (idiom) / to flee ignominiously / also written 抱頭鼠竄|抱头鼠窜 老鼠尾巴 lǎo shǔ wěi ba lit. rat's tail / fig. a follower of inferior stature 一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥 一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥 yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch 一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤 一顆老鼠屎壞了一鍋湯 yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch 鼭 shí a kind of rat 负心汉 負心漢 fù xīn hàn traitor to one's love / heartless rat 老鼠过街，人人喊打 老鼠過街，人人喊打 lǎo shǔ guò jiē , rén rén hǎn dǎ lit. when a rat crosses the street, people chase it down (idiom) / fig. everyone detests a lowlife 獐头鼠目 獐頭鼠目 zhāng tóu shǔ mù lit. the head of a river deer and the eyes of a rat (idiom) / fig. repulsively ugly and shifty-looking syn 躺平 tǎng píng to lie stretched out / (neologism c. 2021) to opt out of the rat race 𠳐 bāng (onom.) bang (door slamming shut etc) / rat-a-tat (knocking on a door etc) 慢累积 慢累積 màn lěi jī accumulates slowly / cumulative (e.g. poison) 全身中毒性毒剂 全身中毒性毒劑 quán shēn zhōng dú xìng dú jì systemic agent / systemic gas / systemic poison 蛙突 wā tū batrachotoxin (BTX), poison from frogs 殙 hūn to die by taking poison 杀螺剂 殺螺劑 shā luó jì snail poison 积累毒性 積累毒性 jī lěi dú xìng cumulative poison 箭毒蛙 jiàn dú wā poison dart frog 有毒物质 有毒物質 yǒu dú wù zhì poison 毒渔 dú yú poison fishing 毒物控制中心 poison centre 萝卜白菜，各有所爱 蘿蔔白菜，各有所愛 luó bo bái cài , gè yǒu suǒ ài one man's meat is another man's poison (idiom) / to each his own 黑函 hēi hán poison pen letter (Tw) 黑帖 hēi tiě poison pen letter syn 甲之蜜糖，乙之砒霜 jiǎ zhī mì táng , yǐ zhī pī shuāng one man's meat is another man's poison (idiom) 荝 萴 cè plant genus Aconitum, aka monkshood or wolf's bane (used as poison and medicine) / Taiwan pr. [ze2] 投毒 tóu dú to poison 萝卜白菜，各有所爱 蘿蔔白菜，各有所愛 luó bo - bái cài , gè yǒu suǒ ài (saying) one man's meat is another man's poison / to each his own 