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下不來臺

简下不来台 · 繁下不來臺

Mandarin · pinyin xià bù lái tái

to be put on the spot
to find oneself in an awkward situation

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Characters in this entry

下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
臺: Look up this written character
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning
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

4–4–2–2 · xia4 bu4 lai2 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.

下不來臺 · find source passages ↗ · 下不来台 · find source passages ↗

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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) synonym of 下不了臺 /下不了台 (xiàbuliǎotái)

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

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