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憑本能做事

简凭本能做事 · 繁憑本能做事

Mandarin · pinyin píng běn néng zuò shì

to follow one's nose

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Characters in this entry

憑: Look up this written character
本: běn · root, origin, source; basis
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
做: zuò · work, make; act
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
凭: píng · lean on, depend on, rely on

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–2–4–4 · ping2 ben3 neng2 zuo4 shi4

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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.

憑本能做事 · find source passages ↗ · 凭本能做事 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pang4 bun2 nang4 zou6 si6

Cantonese word readings for 憑本能做事. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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