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一不小心

Mandarin · pinyin yī bù xiǎo xīn

to be a little bit careless; to have a moment of inattentiveness; accidentally

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3–1 · yi1 bu4 xiao3 xin1

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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 · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

adv

accidentally; carelessly; during a moment of inattention

verb

to be careless; to have a moment of inattention

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

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