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不勞而獲

简不劳而获 · 繁不勞而獲

Mandarin · pinyin bù láo ér huò

(idiom) to reap without sowing; to get sth without working for it; to sponge off others

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
勞: Look up this written character
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
獲: Look up this written character
劳: láo · labor, toil, do manual work
获: huò · obtain, get, receive; seize

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4 · bu4 lao2 er2 huo4

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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.

不勞而獲 · find source passages ↗ · 不劳而获 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 lou4 ji4 wok6

Cantonese word readings for 不勞而獲. 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) to reap without sowing; to live off the toil of other people

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

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