DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

令行禁止

Mandarin · pinyin lìng xíng jìn zhǐ

(lit.) orders are carried out and prohibitions are observed (idiom)
(fig.) to execute every order without fail

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Characters in this entry

令: lìng · command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
禁: jìn · restrict, prohibit, forbid
止: zhǐ · stop, halt, desist; detain

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–3 · ling4 xing2 jin4 zhi3

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ling6 hang4 gam3 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 令行禁止. 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 enforce total obedience to commands; to have all orders abode by

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

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