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功不可沒

简功不可没 · 繁功不可沒

Mandarin · pinyin gōng bù kě mò

one's contributions cannot go unnoticed (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

功: gōng · achievement, merit, good result
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
沒: méi · not, have not, none; to drown, sink
没: méi · not, have not, none; drown, sink

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3–4 · gong1 bu4 ke3 mo4

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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.

功不可沒 · find source passages ↗ · 功不可没 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gung1 bat1 ho2 mut6

Cantonese word readings for 功不可沒. 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) one's contributions cannot go unnoticed

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

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