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一不做，二不休

Mandarin · pinyin yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū

Meanings

  1. lit. either don't do it, or don't rest (idiom)
  2. fig. if you do it at all, you may as well go the whole hog
  3. in for a penny, in for a pound
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Characters in this entry

一
yī · one; a, an; alone
不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
做
zuò · work, make; act
二
èr · two; twice
休
xiū · rest, stop; retire; do not!
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 一不做，二不休 ↗Words written with 一 ↗Words written with 不 ↗Words written with 做 ↗Words written with 二 ↗Words written with 休 ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

jat1 bat1 zou6, ji6 bat1 jau1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

一不做，二不休 · yi1 bu4 zuo4 , er4 bu4 xiu1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 381
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record一不做，二不休 一不做，二不休 [yi1 bu4 zuo4 , er4 bu4 xiu1] /lit. either don't do it, or don't rest (idiom)/fig. if you do it at all, you may as well go the whole hog/in for a penny, in for a pound/