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迫不得已

Mandarin · pinyin pò bù dé yǐ

to have no alternative (idiom); compelled by circumstances
forced into sth

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Characters in this entry

迫: pò · coerce, force, compel; urgent
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
已: yǐ · already; finished; stop

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–3 · po4 bu4 de2 yi3

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bik1 bat1 dak1 ji5

Cantonese word readings for 迫不得已. 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) being forced to; not having a choice

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

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