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不眠不休

Mandarin · pinyin bù mián bù xiū

without stopping to sleep or have a rest (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
眠: mián · close eyes, sleep; hibernate
休: xiū · rest, stop; retire; do not!

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · bu4 mian2 bu4 xiu1

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 min4 bat1 jau1

Cantonese word readings for 不眠不休. 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

(idiomatic) to toil without taking a break to rest or sleep

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

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