DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不怕一萬，就怕萬一

简不怕一万，就怕万一 · 繁不怕一萬，就怕萬一

Mandarin · pinyin bù pà yī wàn , jiù pà wàn yī

better to be safe than sorry (proverb)
to be prepared just in case

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
怕: pà · to fear, be afraid of; apprehensive
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
萬: Look up this written character
就: jiù · just, simply; to come, go to; to approach, near
万: wàn · mò · ten thousand; innumerable

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

Explore the spelling

Connected dictionary

5character 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.

不怕一萬，就怕萬一 · find source passages ↗ · 不怕一万，就怕万一 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗