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破格

Mandarin · pinyin pò gé

to break the rule
to make an exception

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Characters in this entry

破: pò · break, ruin, destroy; rout
格: gé · pattern, standard, form; style

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · po4 ge2

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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 · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

po3 gaak3

Cantonese word readings for 破格. 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.

verb

to break the rule (to employ or admit someone)

adj

(Xiamen Hokkien) outstanding

adj

(Mainland China Hokkien) having uncultured mannerisms and language (usually referring to a woman in Quanzhou and Xiamen)
(Taiwanese Hokkien) bearing bad luck due to bad astrological signs

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

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