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墨守成規

简墨守成规 · 繁墨守成規

Mandarin · pinyin mò shǒu chéng guī

hidebound by convention (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

墨: mò · ink; writing
守: shǒu · defend, protect, guard, conserve
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
規: Look up this written character
规: guī · rules, regulations, customs, law

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–1 · mo4 shou3 cheng2 gui1

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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.

墨守成規 · find source passages ↗ · 墨守成规 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mak6 sau2 sing4 kwai1

Cantonese word readings for 墨守成規. 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 rigidly adhere to old rules or traditions without willingness to change

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

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