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一去不復返

简一去不复返 · 繁一去不復返

Mandarin · pinyin yī qù bù fù fǎn

gone forever

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
去: qù · go away, leave, depart
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
復: Look up this written character
返: fǎn · return, revert to, restore
复: fù · return; repeat; repeatedly

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–4–3 · yi1 qu4 bu4 fu4 fan3

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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.

一去不復返 · find source passages ↗ · 一去不复返 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 heoi3 bat1 fuk6 faan2

Cantonese word readings for 一去不復返. 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

(idiomatic) gone forever; gone never to return

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

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