DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不卑不亢

Mandarin · pinyin bù bēi bù kàng

neither servile nor overbearing (idiom)
neither obsequious nor supercilious

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
卑: bēi · humble, low, inferior; despise
亢: kàng · high, proud; violent, excessive; skilled; name; 2nd lunar mansion, determinative star κ Virginis (Kang)

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · bu4 bei1 bu4 kang4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

不卑不亢 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 bei1 bat1 kong3

Cantonese word readings for 不卑不亢. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) neither obsequious nor supercilious

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack