DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

以下犯上

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ xià fàn shàng

to disrespect one's superiors
to offend one's elders

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
犯: fàn · commit crime, violate; criminal
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–4 · yi3 xia4 fan4 shang4

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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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