是非

Mandarin · pinyin shì fēi

Meanings

  1. right and wrong
  2. quarrel; dispute
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Characters in this entry

是
shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
非
fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1 · shi4 fei1

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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 · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si6 fei1

Cantonese word readings for 是非. 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.

noun

  1. right and wrong
  2. dispute; quarrel; conflict
  3. (Cantonese) gossip

verb

  1. (literary) to praise and censure; to pass judgment on; to comment; to remark

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

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