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不第

Mandarin · pinyin bù dì

to fail the civil service examination (in imperial China)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
第: dì · sequence, number; grade, degree

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · bu4 di4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 dai6

Cantonese word readings for 不第. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

(historical, of imperial examination) failed

conj

(literary) not only

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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