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以防萬一

简以防万一 · 繁以防萬一

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ fáng wàn yī

to guard against the unexpected (idiom); just in case
prepared for any eventualities

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
防: fáng · defend; prevent; embankment
萬: Look up this written character
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
万: wàn · mò · ten thousand; innumerable

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–1 · yi3 fang2 wan4 yi1

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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.

以防萬一 · find source passages ↗ · 以防万一 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji5 fong4 maan6 jat1

Cantonese word readings for 以防萬一. 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 protect against a contingency; just in case

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

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