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例行公事

Mandarin · pinyin lì xíng gōng shì

routine business
usual practice
mere formality

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Characters in this entry

例: lì · precedent, example; regulation
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
公: gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–4 · li4 xing2 gong1 shi4

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to do one's routine business; to do as a mere formality; routine business

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

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