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哭笑不得

Mandarin · pinyin kū xiào bù dé

lit. not to know whether to laugh or cry (idiom)
both funny and extremely embarrassing
between laughter and tears

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Characters in this entry

哭: kū · weep, cry, wail
笑: xiào · smile, laugh, giggle; snicker
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–2 · ku1 xiao4 bu4 de2

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

huk1 siu3 bat1 dak1

Cantonese word readings for 哭笑不得. 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 feel confounded, mildly dumbfounded, or slightly flabbergasted in a polite sense, usually toward a familiar person in an awkward situation

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

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