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伴君如伴虎

Mandarin · pinyin bàn jūn rú bàn hǔ

being close to the sovereign can be as perilous as lying with a tiger (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

伴: bàn · companion, comrade, partner; accompany
君: jūn · sovereign, monarch, ruler, chief, prince
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
虎: hǔ · tiger; brave, fierce; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–2–4–3 · ban4 jun1 ru2 ban4 hu3

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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

bun6 gwan1 jyu4 bun6 fu2

Cantonese word readings for 伴君如伴虎. 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

(simile) It can be dangerous to follow one's leader.

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

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