噬臍莫及

简 噬脐莫及 · 繁 噬臍莫及
Mandarin · pinyin shì qí mò jí

Meanings

  1. (lit.) one cannot bite one's own navel (idiom)
  2. (fig.) too late for regrets
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

噬
shì · bite; gnaw; snap at
臍
Look up this written character
莫
mò · do not, is not, can not; negative
及
jí · extend; reach; come up to; and
脐
qí · abdominal area of crab; navel
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–4–2 · shi4 qi2 mo4 ji2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

噬臍莫及 · find source passages ↗ · 噬脐莫及 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

噬臍莫及 · shi4 qi2 mo4 ji2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 23,421
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record噬臍莫及 噬脐莫及 [shi4 qi2 mo4 ji2] /(lit.) one cannot bite one's own navel (idiom)/(fig.) too late for regrets/