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報應不爽

简报应不爽 · 繁報應不爽

Mandarin · pinyin bào yìng bù shuǎng

divine retribution is unfailing (idiom)
one is inevitably punished for one's misdeeds

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Characters in this entry

報: Look up this written character
應: yīng · should, ought to, must
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
爽: shuǎng · happy, cheerful; refreshing
报: bào · report, tell, announce
应: yīng · should, ought to, must

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–3 · bao4 ying4 bu4 shuang3

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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.

報應不爽 · find source passages ↗ · 报应不爽 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) karmic retribution is inevitable

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

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