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苟且偷生

Mandarin · pinyin gǒu qiě tōu shēng

to drift and live without purpose (idiom); to drag out an ignoble existence

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Characters in this entry

苟: gǒu · careless, frivolous; illicit; grammatical particle: if, but, if only; surname; grass name
且: qiě · moreover, also (post-subject); about to, will soon (pre-verb)
偷: tōu · to steal, burglar, thief
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–1 · gou3 qie3 tou1 sheng1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gau2 ce2 tau1 sang1

Cantonese word readings for 苟且偷生. 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 drag out an ignoble existence

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

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