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不寒而慄

简不寒而栗 · 繁不寒而慄

Mandarin · pinyin bù hán ér lì

lit. not cold, yet shivering (idiom)
fig. to tremble with fear
to be terrified

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
寒: hán · cold, wintry, chilly
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
慄: Look up this written character
栗: lì · chestnut tree, chestnuts; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4 · bu4 han2 er2 li4

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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.

不寒而慄 · find source passages ↗ · 不寒而栗 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 hon4 ji4 leot6

Cantonese word readings for 不寒而慄. 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 tremble with fear; to shudder; to shiver all over despite not being cold

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

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