一代不如一代

Mandarin · pinyin yī dài bù rú yī dài

Meanings

  1. to be getting worse with each generation
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Characters in this entry

一
yī · one; a, an; alone
代
dài · replace, replacement (of person or generation); era, generation
不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
如
rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–2–1–4 · yi1 dai4 bu4 ru2 yi1 dai4

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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 doi6 bat1 jyu4 jat1 doi6

Cantonese word readings for 一代不如一代. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

一代不如一代 · yi1 dai4 bu4 ru2 yi1 dai4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 403
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record一代不如一代 一代不如一代 [yi1 dai4 bu4 ru2 yi1 dai4] /to be getting worse with each generation/