DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不以為然

简不以为然 · 繁不以為然

Mandarin · pinyin bù yǐ wéi rán

not to accept as correct (idiom); to object
to disapprove
to take exception to

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
為: Look up this written character
然: rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–2 · bu4 yi3 wei2 ran2

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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.

不以為然 · find source passages ↗ · 不以为然 · 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) to not accept as correct; to disagree; to object; to disapprove
(idiomatic) to not care; to not regard as important

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

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