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有備無患

简有备无患 · 繁有備無患

Mandarin · pinyin yǒu bèi wú huàn

Preparedness averts peril.
to be prepared, just in case (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
備: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect
無: Look up this written character
患: huàn · suffer, worry about; suffering
备: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–4 · you3 bei4 wu2 huan4

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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.

有備無患 · find source passages ↗ · 有备无患 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jau5 bei6 mou4 waan6

Cantonese word readings for 有備無患. 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 be prepared against adverse events; just in case

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

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