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山不轉路轉

简山不转路转 · 繁山不轉路轉

Mandarin · pinyin shān bù zhuàn lù zhuàn

(lit.) if the mountain won't move, the road will go around it (idiom)
(fig.) there's always a way forward, even when faced with obstacles

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Characters in this entry

山: shān · mountain, hill, peak
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
轉: Look up this written character
路: lù · road, path, street; journey
转: zhuǎn · shift, move, turn

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4–4–4 · shan1 bu4 zhuan4 lu4 zhuan4

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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.

山不轉路轉 · find source passages ↗ · 山不转路转 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saan1 bat1 zyun2 lou6 zyun2

Cantonese word readings for 山不轉路轉. 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.

proverb

There's more than one way to skin a cat; There is always a workaround.

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

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