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恬不知恥

简恬不知耻 · 繁恬不知恥

Mandarin · pinyin tián bù zhī chǐ

to have no sense of shame

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Characters in this entry

恬: tián · quiet, calm, tranquil, peaceful
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
恥: Look up this written character
耻: chǐ · shame, humiliation; ashamed

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–3 · tian2 bu4 zhi1 chi3

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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.

恬不知恥 · find source passages ↗ · 恬不知耻 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to be shameless

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

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