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不知進退

简不知进退 · 繁不知進退

Mandarin · pinyin bù zhī jìn tuì

not knowing when to come or leave (idiom); with no sense of propriety

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
進: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
退: tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
进: jìn · advance, make progress, enter

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · bu4 zhi1 jin4 tui4

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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.

不知進退 · find source passages ↗ · 不知进退 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 zi1 zeon3 teoi3

Cantonese word readings for 不知進退. 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 have no sense of propriety; to not know where to stop

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

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