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攻其不備

简攻其不备 · 繁攻其不備

Mandarin · pinyin gōng qí bù bèi

see 出其不意，攻其不備 chū qí bù yì, gōng qí bù bèi

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Characters in this entry

攻: gōng · attack, assault; criticize
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
備: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect
备: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · gong1 qi2 bu4 bei4

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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.

攻其不備 · find source passages ↗ · 攻其不备 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gung1 kei4 bat1 bei6

Cantonese word readings for 攻其不備. 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 attack when the enemy is unprepared

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

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