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懷才不遇

简怀才不遇 · 繁懷才不遇

Mandarin · pinyin huái cái bù yù

to have talent but no opportunity (idiom)
to be an unrecognized talent

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Characters in this entry

懷: Look up this written character
才: cái · talent, ability; just, only
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
遇: yù · meet, come across, encounter
怀: huái · bosom, breast; carry in bosom

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–4 · huai2 cai2 bu4 yu4

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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.

懷才不遇 · find source passages ↗ · 怀才不遇 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

waai4 coi4 bat1 jyu6

Cantonese word readings for 懷才不遇. 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 talent but no opportunity to use it

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

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