DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

應接不暇

简应接不暇 · 繁應接不暇

Mandarin · pinyin yìng jiē bù xiá

more than one can attend to (idiom)
deluged (with inquiries etc)
overwhelmed (by the beauty of the scenery)

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Characters in this entry

應: yīng · should, ought to, must
接: jiē · receive; continue; catch; connect
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
暇: xiá · leisure, relaxation, spare time
应: yīng · should, ought to, must

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–2 · ying4 jie1 bu4 xia2

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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.

應接不暇 · find source passages ↗ · 应接不暇 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jing3 zip3 bat1 haa6

Cantonese word readings for 應接不暇. 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 have more on than one can attend to; to be overwhelmed by (beautiful scenery, tasks, customers, etc.)

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

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