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不攻自破

Mandarin · pinyin bù gōng zì pò

(of a rumor etc) to collapse (in the light of facts etc)
to be discredited

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
攻: gōng · attack, assault; criticize
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
破: pò · break, ruin, destroy; rout

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · bu4 gong1 zi4 po4

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to collapse of itself (of a rumor, etc.); to be discredited

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

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