不翼而飛
简 不翼而飞 · 繁 不翼而飛Meanings
- to disappear without trace
- to vanish all of a sudden
- to spread fast
- to spread like wildfire
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Mandarin tones
4–4–2–1 · bu4 yi4 er2 fei1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
不翼而飛 · find source passages ↗ · 不翼而飞 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
bat1 jik6 ji4 fei1
Cantonese word readings for 不翼而飛. 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
- (of news) to spread quickly; to spread like wildfire; to spread fast as if on wings
- (of an object) to disappear suddenly; to disappear without a trace; to vanish into thin air
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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