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坐以待斃

简坐以待毙 · 繁坐以待斃

Mandarin · pinyin zuò yǐ dài bì

to sit and wait for death (idiom); resigned to one's fate

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Characters in this entry

坐: zuò · sit; seat; ride, travel by
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
待: dài · treat, entertain, receive; wait
斃: Look up this written character
毙: bì · kill; die violent death

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–4 · zuo4 yi3 dai4 bi4

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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.

坐以待斃 · find source passages ↗ · 坐以待毙 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zo6 ji5 doi6 bai6

Cantonese word readings for 坐以待斃. 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 do nothing in face of peril or impending disasters

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

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