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妄自菲薄

Mandarin · pinyin wàng zì fěi bó

to be unduly humble (idiom)
to undervalue oneself

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Characters in this entry

妄: wàng · absurd, foolish, reckless; false
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
菲: fēi · fragrant, luxuriant; the Philippines
薄: báo · bó · thin, slight, weak; poor, stingy

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–2 · wang4 zi4 fei3 bo2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mong5 zi6 fei2 bok6

Cantonese word readings for 妄自菲薄. 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 excessively see oneself as inferior; to look down upon oneself excessively

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

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