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一介不取

Mandarin · pinyin yī jiè bù qǔ

to not even take a penny (as a bribe)

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
介: jiè · forerunner, herald, harbinger; to lie between; sea shell; to wear armor
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
取: qǔ · take, receive, obtain; select

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–3 · yi1 jie4 bu4 qu3

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 gaai3 bat1 ceoi2

Cantonese word readings for 一介不取. 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.

phrase

(of a public servant who is not corrupt) does not take a single penny

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

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