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不打不成器

Mandarin · pinyin bù dǎ bù chéng qì

spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
打: dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
器: qì · receptacle, vessel; instrument

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–2–4 · bu4 da3 bu4 cheng2 qi4

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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 daa2 bat1 sing4 hei3

Cantonese word readings for 不打不成器. 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.

proverb

spare the rod and spoil the child; a proverb justifying corporal punishment by parents on children

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

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