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間不容髮

简间不容发 · 繁間不容髮

Mandarin · pinyin jiān bù róng fà

(to escape danger etc) by a hair's breadth (idiom)
in a critical state
on the brink of crisis
very close (to happening)
Taiwan pr. jiàn bù róng fǎ

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Characters in this entry

間: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
容: róng · looks, appearance; figure, form
髮: fà · fǎ · hair
间: jiān · midpoint, space; place, locality
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–2–4 · jian1 bu4 rong2 fa4

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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.

間不容髮 · find source passages ↗ · 间不容发 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) extreme closeness; hair's breadth (of difference, distance, etc)
(of a situation, figuratively) extremely critical; in imminent danger

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

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