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以身試法

简以身试法 · 繁以身試法

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ shēn shì fǎ

to challenge the law (idiom)
to knowingly violate the law

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
試: Look up this written character
法: fǎ · law, rule, regulation, statute; France, French
试: shì · test, try, experiment

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–4–3 · yi3 shen1 shi4 fa3

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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.

以身試法 · find source passages ↗ · 以身试法 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji5 san1 si3 faat3

Cantonese word readings for 以身試法. 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 deliberately violate the law

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

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