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不敢恭維

简不敢恭维 · 繁不敢恭維

Mandarin · pinyin bù gǎn gōng wei

(idiom) less than impressed; underwhelmed

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
敢: gǎn · to dare, venture; bold, brave
恭: gōng · respectful, polite, reverent
維: Look up this written character
维: wéi · maintain, preserve, safeguard

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–5 · bu4 gan3 gong1 wei5

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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.

不敢恭維 · find source passages ↗ · 不敢恭维 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 gam2 gung1 wai4

Cantonese word readings for 不敢恭維. 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

(euphemistic) to be not good; to not deserve a compliment

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

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