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唯利是圖

简唯利是图 · 繁唯利是圖

Mandarin · pinyin wéi lì shì tú

(idiom) to be bent solely on profit; to put profit before everything else

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Characters in this entry

唯: wéi · only; yes
利: lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
圖: Look up this written character
图: tú · diagram; chart, map, picture

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–2 · wei2 li4 shi4 tu2

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4character links1same-tone record

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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.

唯利是圖 · find source passages ↗ · 唯利是图 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wai4 lei6 si6 tou4

Cantonese word readings for 唯利是圖. 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 be bent solely on profit; to seek nothing but profits

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

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