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河水不犯井水

Mandarin · pinyin hé shuǐ bù fàn jǐng shuǐ

see 井水不犯河水 jǐng shuǐ bù fàn hé shuǐ

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Characters in this entry

河: hé · river; stream; the Yellow River
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
犯: fàn · commit crime, violate; criminal
井: jǐng · well, mine shaft, pit; surname; 22nd lunar mansion, determinative star μ Geminorum (Tejat); hexagram ䷯

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–4–3–3 · he2 shui3 bu4 fan4 jing3 shui3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ho4 seoi2 bat1 faan6 zeng2 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 河水不犯井水. 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

(alt-of, alternative, idiomatic) alternative form of 井水不犯河水 (jǐngshuǐ bù fàn héshuǐ, “two things keeping to themselves”)

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

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