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拿不出手

Mandarin · pinyin ná bù chū shǒu

not presentable
shoddy and too embarrassing to show

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Characters in this entry

拿: ná · take, hold, grasp; bring; with
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
手: shǒu · hand

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–3 · na2 bu4 chu1 shou3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naa4 bat1 ceot1 sau2

Cantonese word readings for 拿不出手. 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.

adj

(idiomatic) not presentable, shoddy and too embarrassing to show

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

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