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一絲不掛

简一丝不挂 · 繁一絲不掛

Mandarin · pinyin yī sī bù guà

not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
without a stitch of clothing
in one's birthday suit

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
絲: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
掛: guà · hang, suspend; suspense
丝: sī · silk; fine thread; wire; strings
挂: guà · hang, suspend; suspense

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · yi1 si1 bu4 gua4

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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.

一絲不掛 · find source passages ↗ · 一丝不挂 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 si1 bat1 gwaa3

Cantonese word readings for 一絲不掛. 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.

verb

to be stark naked

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

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