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自強不息

简自强不息 · 繁自強不息

Mandarin · pinyin zì qiáng bù xī

to strive unremittingly
self-improvement

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
強: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
息: xī · rest, put stop to, end, cease
强: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · zi4 qiang2 bu4 xi1

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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.

自強不息 · find source passages ↗ · 自强不息 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 goeng6 bat1 sik1

Cantonese word readings for 自強不息. 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 strive to better oneself constantly and never slacken

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

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