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老實巴交

简老实巴交 · 繁老實巴交

Mandarin · pinyin lǎo shi bā jiāo

(coll.) docile
well-behaved
biddable

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Characters in this entry

老: lǎo · old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
實: shí · real, true, solid, honest
巴: bā · greatly desire, anxiously hope
交: jiāo · mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
实: shí · real, true; honest, sincere

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

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Mandarin tones

3–5–1–1 · lao3 shi5 ba1 jiao1

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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.

老實巴交 · find source passages ↗ · 老实巴交 · 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.

adj

(colloquial, often derogatory) well-behaved and cautious; honest and simple

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

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