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不得已而為之

简不得已而为之 · 繁不得已而為之

Mandarin · pinyin bù dé yǐ ér wéi zhī

to have no other choice
to be the last resort

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
已: yǐ · already; finished; stop
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
為: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
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

4–2–3–2–2–1 · bu4 de2 yi3 er2 wei2 zhi1

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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.

不得已而為之 · find source passages ↗ · 不得已而为之 · 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 do something against one's will; to have no choice but to do something

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

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