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過猶不及

简过犹不及 · 繁過猶不及

Mandarin · pinyin guò yóu bù jí

too far is as bad as not enough (idiom, from the Analects)

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Characters in this entry

過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
猶: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
及: jí · extend; reach; come up to; and
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across
犹: yóu · like, similar to, just like, as

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–2 · guo4 you2 bu4 ji2

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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.

過猶不及 · find source passages ↗ · 过犹不及 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwo3 jau4 bat1 kap6

Cantonese word readings for 過猶不及. 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) doing too much is just as bad as not doing enough

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

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