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不成功便成仁

Mandarin · pinyin bù chéng gōng biàn chéng rén

to succeed or die trying (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
功: gōng · achievement, merit, good result
便: biàn · convenience, ease; expedient
仁: rén · humaneness, benevolence, kindness

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–4–2–2 · bu4 cheng2 gong1 bian4 cheng2 ren2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 sing4 gung1 bin6 sing4 jan4

Cantonese word readings for 不成功便成仁. 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 succeed or die

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

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