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臨渴掘井

简临渴掘井 · 繁臨渴掘井

Mandarin · pinyin lín kě jué jǐng

lit. not to dig a well until one is thirsty
to be unprepared and seek help at the last minute (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

臨: Look up this written character
渴: kě · thirsty, parched; yearn, pine
掘: jué · dig, excavate; excavate cave
井: jǐng · well, mine shaft, pit; surname; 22nd lunar mansion, determinative star μ Geminorum (Tejat); hexagram ䷯
临: lín · draw near, approach; descend

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–2–3 · lin2 ke3 jue2 jing3

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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.

臨渴掘井 · find source passages ↗ · 临渴掘井 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lam4 hot3 gwat6 zeng2

Cantonese word readings for 臨渴掘井. 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

(figurative) to fail to make a timely preparation and look for a solution at the last minute

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

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