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屢教不改

简屡教不改 · 繁屢教不改

Mandarin · pinyin lǚ jiào bù gǎi

lit. not to change, despite repeated admonition
incorrigible
unrepentant

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Characters in this entry

屢: Look up this written character
教: jiào · teach, class
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
改: gǎi · change, alter; improve, remodel
屡: lǚ · frequently, often, again and again

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–3 · lu:3 jiao4 bu4 gai3

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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.

屢教不改 · find source passages ↗ · 屡教不改 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

leoi5 gaau3 bat1 goi2

Cantonese word readings for 屢教不改. 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 have been taught many times, but still do wrong anyway; to be incorrigible

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack