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不言自明

Mandarin · pinyin bù yán zì míng

self-evident; needing no explanation (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–2 · bu4 yan2 zi4 ming2

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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 jin4 zi6 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 不言自明. 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 be self-evident; to go without saying

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

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