DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

睚眥必報

简睚眦必报 · 繁睚眥必報

Mandarin · pinyin yá zì bì bào

lit. to seek revenge over a dirty look (idiom)
fig. small-minded
vindictive

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Characters in this entry

睚: yá · corner of eye; stare
眥: Look up this written character
必: bì · surely, most certainly; must
報: Look up this written character
眦: zì · corner of the eyes, eye sockets
报: bào · report, tell, announce

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–4 · ya2 zi4 bi4 bao4

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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.

睚眥必報 · find source passages ↗ · 睚眦必报 · 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.

phrase

(literary) vindictive; vengeful; unforgiving even with petty grievances

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

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