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可遇不可求

Mandarin · pinyin kě yù bù kě qiú

can be discovered but not sought (idiom)
one can only come across such things serendipitously

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Characters in this entry

可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
遇: yù · meet, come across, encounter
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
求: qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–3–2 · ke3 yu4 bu4 ke3 qiu2

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ho2 jyu6 bat1 ho2 kau4

Cantonese word readings for 可遇不可求. 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

(of something good or fortunate) can only be come across serendipitously; good things may happen, but may not be sought; just have to let it happen, you can't force it

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

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