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逍遙法外

简逍遥法外 · 繁逍遙法外

Mandarin · pinyin xiāo yáo fǎ wài

unfettered and beyond the law (idiom); evading retribution
getting away with it (e.g. crimes)
still at large

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Characters in this entry

逍: xiāo · ramble, stroll, jaunt, loiter
遙: Look up this written character
法: fǎ · law, rule, regulation, statute; France, French
外: wài · out, outside, external; foreign
遥: yáo · far away, distant, remote

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · xiao1 yao2 fa3 wai4

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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.

逍遙法外 · find source passages ↗ · 逍遥法外 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

siu1 jiu4 faat3 ngoi6

Cantonese word readings for 逍遙法外. 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

(of fugitives) to be at large; to be on the loose

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

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