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愛不釋手

简爱不释手 · 繁愛不釋手

Mandarin · pinyin ài bù shì shǒu

(idiom) to like sth so much that one is reluctant to put it down; to find sth utterly irresistible

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Characters in this entry

愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
釋: Look up this written character
手: shǒu · hand
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like
释: shì · interpret, elucidate; release

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–3 · ai4 bu4 shi4 shou3

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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.

愛不釋手 · find source passages ↗ · 爱不释手 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi3 bat1 sik1 sau2

Cantonese word readings for 愛不釋手. 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 love something too much to part with it

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

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