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若要人不知，除非己莫为

ruò yào rén bù zhī , chú fēi jǐ mò wéidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1fd2920a510a5bc6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

若要人不知，除非己莫為 若要人不知，除非己莫为 [ruo4 yao4 ren2 bu4 zhi1 , chu2 fei1 ji3 mo4 wei2] /If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it./

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 若要人不知，除非己莫為

  • 若
    rě

    used in 般若[bō rě] / used in 蘭若|兰若[lán rě]

    ruò

    to seem / like / as / if

  • 要
    yāo

    (bound form) to demand / to coerce

    yào

    to want / to need / to ask for / will / shall / about to / need to / should / if (same as 要是[yào shi]) / (bound form) important

  • 人
  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 知
    zhī

    to know / to be aware

  • 除
    chú

    to get rid of / to remove / to exclude / to eliminate / to wipe out / to divide / except / not including

  • 非
    fēi

    to not be / not / wrong / incorrect / non- / un- / in- / de- / to reproach / to blame / (coll.) to insist on / simply must

    Fēi

    abbr. for 非洲[Fēi zhōu], Africa

  • 己
    jǐ

    self / oneself / sixth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shí tiān gān] / sixth in order / letter "F" or Roman "VI" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc / hexa

  • 莫
    mò

    do not / there is none who

    Mò

    surname Mo

  • 为
    wéi

    as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)

    wèi

    because of / for / to

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.