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有增無減

简有增无减 · 繁有增無減

Mandarin · pinyin yǒu zēng wú jiǎn

to increase without letup
to get worse and worse (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
增: zēng · increase, add to, augment
無: Look up this written character
減: Look up this written character
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
减: jiǎn · decrease, subtract, diminish

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–2–3 · you3 zeng1 wu2 jian3

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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.

有增無減 · find source passages ↗ · 有增无减 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jau5 zang1 mou4 gaam2

Cantonese word readings for 有增無減. 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 only increase and not decrease

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

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