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一無是處

简一无是处 · 繁一無是處

Mandarin · pinyin yī wú shì chù

(idiom) not one good point; everything about it is wrong

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
無: Look up this written character
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
處: Look up this written character
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
处: chù · place, locale; department

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · yi1 wu2 shi4 chu4

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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.

一無是處 · find source passages ↗ · 一无是处 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 mou4 si6 cyu3

Cantonese word readings for 一無是處. 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) devoid of any merit; good-for-nothing

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

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