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否極泰來

简否极泰来 · 繁否極泰來

Mandarin · pinyin pǐ jí tài lái

extreme sorrow turns to joy (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

否: fǒu · not, no, negative; final particle; hexagram ䷋
極: Look up this written character
泰: tài · great, exalted, superior; big; hexagram ䷊
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
极: jí · extreme, utmost, furthest, final
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

3–2–4–2 · pi3 ji2 tai4 lai2

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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.

否極泰來 · find source passages ↗ · 否极泰来 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pei2 gik6 taai3 loi4

Cantonese word readings for 否極泰來. 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) extreme adversity marks the beginning of fortune; when worse comes to the worst, things will turn for the better

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

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