DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
何不食肉糜
Mandarin · pinyin hé bù shí ròu mí
Meanings
- (lit.) "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" (said by Emperor Hui of Jin 晉惠帝 Jìn Huì dì when told that his people lacked rice) (saying)
- (fig.) to be oblivious to the suffering of ordinary people
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Mandarin tones
2–4–2–4–2 · he2 bu4 shi2 rou4 mi2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
ho4 bat1 sik6 juk6 mei4
Cantonese word readings for 何不食肉糜. 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
- (sarcastic) let them eat cake; Describing an impractical, ridiculous and often arrogant advise from someone uninvolved, especially from the elite.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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