不期而至

Mandarin · pinyin bù qī ér zhì

Meanings

  1. to arrive unexpectably
  2. unexpected
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Characters in this entry

不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
期
qī · period of time; date; time limit
而
ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
至
zhì · reach, arrive; extremely, very; Kangxi radical 133
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–2–4 · bu4 qi1 er2 zhi4

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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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