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不可終日

简不可终日 · 繁不可終日

Mandarin · pinyin bù kě zhōng rì

to be unable to carry on even for a single day
to be in a desperate situation

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
終: Look up this written character
日: rì · sun; day; daytime
终: zhōng · end; finally, in the end

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–4 · bu4 ke3 zhong1 ri4

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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.

不可終日 · find source passages ↗ · 不可终日 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 ho2 zung1 jat6

Cantonese word readings for 不可終日. 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

(figurative) in a desperate situation
(figurative) very frightened; very anxious

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

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