趕前不趕後

简 赶前不赶后 · 繁 趕前不趕後
Mandarin · pinyin gǎn qián bù gǎn hòu

Meanings

  1. (saying) better to act early than rush later
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Characters in this entry

趕
Look up this written character
前
qián · in front, forward; preceding
不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
後
hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
赶
gǎn · pursue, follow; expel, drive away
后
hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–3–4 · gan3 qian2 bu4 gan3 hou4

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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.

趕前不趕後 · find source passages ↗ · 赶前不赶后 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gon2 cin4 bat1 gon2 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 趕前不趕後. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

趕前不趕後 · gan3 qian2 bu4 gan3 hou4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 104,834
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record趕前不趕後 赶前不赶后 [gan3 qian2 bu4 gan3 hou4] /(saying) better to act early than rush later/