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不看僧面看佛面

Mandarin · pinyin bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn

lit. not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiom)
fig. (to do sth for sb) out of deference to sb else

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
看: kàn · look, see; examine, scrutinize
僧: sēng · Buddhist priest, monk; san of Sanskrit sangha
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
佛: fú · Buddha; of Buddhism; merciful person; Buddhist image; the dead (Japanese)

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–4–4–2–4 · bu4 kan4 seng1 mian4 kan4 fo2 mian4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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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 do something for someone out of deference to someone else

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

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