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何必

Mandarin · pinyin hé bì

there is no need
why should

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Characters in this entry

何: hé · what, why, where, which, how
必: bì · surely, most certainly; must

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · he2 bi4

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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

ho4 bit1

Cantonese word readings for 何必. 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.

adv

(in rhetorical questions) why; why on earth (i.e. there is no need); why bother

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

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