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潛規則

简潜规则 · 繁潛規則

Mandarin · pinyin qián guī zé

unspoken rules (usually ones that codify improper behaviors such as leveraging guanxi to get favorable treatment, or coercing employees for sexual favors)

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Characters in this entry

潛: Look up this written character
規: Look up this written character
則: Look up this written character
潜: qián · hide; hidden, secret, latent
规: guī · rules, regulations, customs, law
则: zé · rule, law, regulation; grades

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2 · qian2 gui1 ze2

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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.

潛規則 · find source passages ↗ · 潜规则 · find source passages ↗

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