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疲於奔命

简疲于奔命 · 繁疲於奔命

Mandarin · pinyin pí yú bēn mìng

(idiom) terribly busy
up to one's ears in work

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Characters in this entry

疲: pí · feel tired, be exhausted; weak
於: yú · yū · in, at, on; interjection alas!
奔: bēn · run fast, flee; rush about; run
命: mìng · life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction
于: yú · in, on, at; go to; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · pi2 yu2 ben1 ming4

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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.

疲於奔命 · find source passages ↗ · 疲于奔命 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pei4 jyu1 ban1 ming6

Cantonese word readings for 疲於奔命. 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 be tired and exhausted from constantly running around; to be tired to death with hustling and bustling

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

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