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平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳

简平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 · 繁平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳

Mandarin · pinyin píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎo

(lit.) to never burn incense when all's well, but clutch Buddha's feet in a crisis (proverb)
(fig.) to neglect preparation until the last moment, then act in panic

Characters in this entry

平: píng · flat, level, even; peaceful
時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
燒: shāo · burn; bake; heat; roast
香: xiāng · fragrant, sweet-smelling; incense; Kangxi radical 186
臨: Look up this written character
抱: bào · embrace, hold in arms, enfold
佛: fú · Buddha; of Buddhism; merciful person; Buddhist image; the dead (Japanese)
腳: jiǎo · foot; base, leg, foundation
时: shí · time, season; era, age, period
烧: shāo · burn; bake; heat; roast
临: lín · draw near, approach; descend
脚: jiǎo · leg, foot; base, leg, foundation

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

12character links

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

ping4 si4 bat1 siu1 hoeng1 ，lam4 si4 pou5 fat6 goek3

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