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等閒之輩

简等闲之辈 · 繁等閒之輩

Mandarin · pinyin děng xián zhī bèi

(in the negative) (not) to be trifled with

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Characters in this entry

等: děng · rank, grade; to wait; equal, “and so forth”
閒: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
輩: Look up this written character
闲: xián · fence, guard; defend; idle time
辈: bèi · generation, lifetime; class

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1–4 · deng3 xian2 zhi1 bei4

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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.

等閒之輩 · find source passages ↗ · 等闲之辈 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dang2 haan4 zi1 bui3

Cantonese word readings for 等閒之輩. 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) ordinary folk; lightweight; nobody

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

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