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下不了臺

简下不了台 · 繁下不了臺

Mandarin · pinyin xià bu liǎo tái

to be unable to extricate oneself gracefully
to be put on the spot
to be embarrassed

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Characters in this entry

下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action
臺: Look up this written character
台: tái · platform; unit; term of address

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

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Mandarin tones

4–5–3–2 · xia4 bu5 liao3 tai2

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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.

下不了臺 · find source passages ↗ · 下不了台 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be unable to extricate oneself from an awkward situation

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

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