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寶刀未老

简宝刀未老 · 繁寶刀未老

Mandarin · pinyin bǎo dāo wèi lǎo

treasure knife does not age (idiom); old but still vigorous

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Characters in this entry

寶: Look up this written character
刀: dāo · knife; old coin; measure
未: wèi · not yet; eighth earthly branch
老: lǎo · old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
宝: bǎo · treasure, jewel; precious, rare

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–4–3 · bao3 dao1 wei4 lao3

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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.

寶刀未老 · find source passages ↗ · 宝刀未老 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bou2 dou1 mei6 lou5

Cantonese word readings for 寶刀未老. 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) old but still got it; as vigorous and active as before; just as skilled as when one was young

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

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