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犯得著

简犯得着 · 繁犯得著

Mandarin · pinyin fàn de zháo

worthwhile (often in rhetorical questions, implying not worthwhile)
also written 犯得上 fàn de shàng

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Characters in this entry

犯: fàn · commit crime, violate; criminal
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
著: zhù · zhe · manifest; (Cant.) to wear
着: zhe · make move, take action

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

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Mandarin tones

4–5–2 · fan4 de5 zhao2

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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.

犯得著 · find source passages ↗ · 犯得着 · find source passages ↗

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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.

verb

(chiefly used in rhetorical questions outside Hangzhounese) to be worthwile

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

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