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怒不可遏

Mandarin · pinyin nù bù kě è

unable to restrain one's anger (idiom); in a towering rage

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Characters in this entry

怒: nù · anger, rage, passion; angry
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
遏: è · stop, suppress, curb, check; a bar

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–4 · nu4 bu4 ke3 e4

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) unable to contain one's anger; cannot restrain one's fury; be in a towering rage

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

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