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鞭長莫及

简鞭长莫及 · 繁鞭長莫及

Mandarin · pinyin biān cháng mò jí

lit. the whip cannot reach (idiom); beyond one's influence
too far to be able to help

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Characters in this entry

鞭: biān · whip; whip; string of firecrackers
長: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader; Kangxi radical 168
莫: mò · do not, is not, can not; negative
及: jí · extend; reach; come up to; and
长: zhǎng · long; length; excel in; leader

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–2 · bian1 chang2 mo4 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.

鞭長莫及 · find source passages ↗ · 鞭长莫及 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bin1 coeng4 mok6 kap6

Cantonese word readings for 鞭長莫及. 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) beyond one's influence; too far to be able to help

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

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