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來者不拒

简来者不拒 · 繁來者不拒

Mandarin · pinyin lái zhě bù jù

to refuse nobody (idiom)
all comers welcome

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Characters in this entry

來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
者: zhě · that which; he who; those who
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
拒: jù · ward off with hand, defend
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–4 · lai2 zhe3 bu4 ju4

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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.

來者不拒 · find source passages ↗ · 来者不拒 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

loi4 ze2 bat1 keoi5

Cantonese word readings for 來者不拒. 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 refuse nobody; to accept all requests

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

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