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恣意妄為

简恣意妄为 · 繁恣意妄為

Mandarin · pinyin zì yì wàng wéi

to behave unscrupulously

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Characters in this entry

恣: zì · indulge oneself, unrestrained
意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think
妄: wàng · absurd, foolish, reckless; false
為: Look up this written character
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–2 · zi4 yi4 wang4 wei2

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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.

恣意妄為 · find source passages ↗ · 恣意妄为 · find source passages ↗

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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 act recklessly or arbitrarily without restraint

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

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