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不擇手段

简不择手段 · 繁不擇手段

Mandarin · pinyin bù zé shǒu duàn

by fair means or foul
by hook or by crook
unscrupulously

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
擇: Look up this written character
手: shǒu · hand
段: duàn · section, piece, division
择: zé · select, choose, pick out

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–4 · bu4 ze2 shou3 duan4

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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.

不擇手段 · find source passages ↗ · 不择手段 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 zaak6 sau2 dyun6

Cantonese word readings for 不擇手段. 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

(derogatory) to take any measures to do something; to stop at nothing; by hook or by crook; unscrupulously

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack