DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

愛理不理

简爱理不理 · 繁愛理不理

Mandarin · pinyin ài lǐ bù lǐ

(idiom) standoffish; indifferent

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
理: lǐ · reason, logic; manage
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–3–4–3 · ai4 li3 bu4 li3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

愛理不理 · find source passages ↗ · 爱理不理 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi3 lei5 bat1 lei5

Cantonese word readings for 愛理不理. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) standoffish; indifferent

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack