苟且

Mandarin · pinyin gǒu qiě

Meanings

  1. perfunctory
  2. careless
  3. drifting along
  4. resigned to one's fate
  5. improper (relations)
  6. illicit (sex)
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Characters in this entry

苟
gǒu · careless, frivolous; illicit; grammatical particle: if, but, if only; surname; grass name
且
qiě · moreover, also (post-subject); about to, will soon (pre-verb)
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · gou3 qie3

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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

gau2 ce2

Cantonese word readings for 苟且. 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

  1. negligent; careless; perfunctory
  2. not observant of propriety
  3. illicit (usually of sexual relations)

adv

  1. tentatively; for the time being

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

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