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得過且過

简得过且过 · 繁得過且過

Mandarin · pinyin dé guò qiě guò

satisfied just to get through (idiom); to muddle through
without high ambitions, but getting by

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Characters in this entry

得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
且: qiě · moreover, also (post-subject); about to, will soon (pre-verb)
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–3–4 · de2 guo4 qie3 guo4

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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.

得過且過 · find source passages ↗ · 得过且过 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dak1 gwo3 ce2 gwo3

Cantonese word readings for 得過且過. 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 muddle along; to drift along; to be perfunctory with one's work; to get by however one can

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

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