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雞犬不寧

简鸡犬不宁 · 繁雞犬不寧

Mandarin · pinyin jī quǎn bù níng

lit. not even the chickens and dogs are left undisturbed (idiom)
fig. great commotion
pandemonium

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Characters in this entry

雞: jī · chickens; domestic fowl
犬: quǎn · dog; radical number 94
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
寧: Look up this written character
鸡: jī · chicken
宁: níng · calm, peaceful, serene; healthy

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–4–2 · ji1 quan3 bu4 ning2

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雞犬不寧 · find source passages ↗ · 鸡犬不宁 · find source passages ↗

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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

(raising such a fearful din that) everyone is nervous; great disturbance or turmoil

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

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