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懷璧其罪

简怀璧其罪 · 繁懷璧其罪

Mandarin · pinyin huái bì qí zuì

lit. treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime (idiom); to get into trouble on account of a cherished item
fig. A person's talent will arouse the envy of others.

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Characters in this entry

懷: Look up this written character
璧: bì · piece of jade with hole in it
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
罪: zuì · crime, sin, vice; evil; hardship
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

2–4–2–4 · huai2 bi4 qi2 zui4

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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.

懷璧其罪 · find source passages ↗ · 怀璧其罪 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

waai4 bik1 kei4 zeoi6

Cantonese word readings for 懷璧其罪. 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) possessing something valuable or being talented can invite trouble due to others' envy

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

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