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為非作歹

简为非作歹 · 繁為非作歹

Mandarin · pinyin wéi fēi zuò dǎi

to break the law and commit crimes (idiom); malefactor
evildoer
to perpetrate outrages

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Characters in this entry

為: Look up this written character
非: fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
歹: dǎi · bad, vicious, depraved, wicked
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · wei2 fei1 zuo4 dai3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

wai4 fei1 zok3 daai2

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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to do evil

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

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