DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

積非成是

简积非成是 · 繁積非成是

Mandarin · pinyin jī fēi chéng shì

a wrong repeated becomes right (idiom); a lie or an error passed on for a long time may be taken for the truth

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

積: Look up this written character
非: fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
积: jī · accumulate, store up, amass

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–2–4 · ji1 fei1 cheng2 shi4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

積非成是 · find source passages ↗ · 积非成是 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) mistakes have become so habitual that they are instead regarded as right

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack