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不肖

Mandarin · pinyin bù xiào

(literary) unlike one's parents
degenerate
unworthy

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
肖: xiào · look like, resemble, be like

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · bu4 xiao4

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2character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 ciu3

Cantonese word readings for 不肖. 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

(of a person) unworthy; unseemly; unpromising; dishonourable; of poor moral character
(literary, of a son) unlike one's father

noun

unworthy person

pron

(humble) I; me

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

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