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人算不如天算

Mandarin · pinyin rén suàn bù rú tiān suàn

man proposes, God disposes (idiom)
one's plans can be derailed by unforeseen events

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Characters in this entry

人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
算: suàn · count, calculate, figure; plan
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–2–1–4 · ren2 suan4 bu4 ru2 tian1 suan4

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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

jan4 syun3 bat1 jyu4 tin1 syun3

Cantonese word readings for 人算不如天算. 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.

proverb

the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry; no matter how much one plans things out, life always intervenes; man proposes, God disposes; God's plans supersede our own

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

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