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格殺勿論

简格杀勿论 · 繁格殺勿論

Mandarin · pinyin gé shā wù lùn

(idiom) to kill on sight (without fear of prosecution)

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Characters in this entry

格: gé · pattern, standard, form; style
殺: Look up this written character
勿: wù · must not, do not; without, never
論: Look up this written character
杀: shā · kill, slaughter, murder; hurt
论: lùn · debate; discuss; discourse

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · ge2 sha1 wu4 lun4

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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.

格殺勿論 · find source passages ↗ · 格杀勿论 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

Use of deadly force authorized; it is permitted to kill (someone) without any legal consequence.

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

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