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答非所問

简答非所问 · 繁答非所問

Mandarin · pinyin dá fēi suǒ wèn

(idiom) to sidestep the question
to answer evasively

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Characters in this entry

答: dá · answer, reply; return; assent to
非: fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
問: wèn · ask (about), inquire after
问: wèn · ask about, inquire after

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–4 · da2 fei1 suo3 wen4

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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.

答非所問 · find source passages ↗ · 答非所问 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daap3 fei1 so2 man6

Cantonese word readings for 答非所問. 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 give an irrelevant answer to a question

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

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