不 求 有 功，但 求 无 过

bù qiú yǒu gōng , dàn qiú wú guòdictionary entry

lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes (idiom) / fig. to take a risk-averse approach

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-4ac12f4f3e86dbf8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

不求有功，但求無過 不求有功，但求无过 [bu4 qiu2 you3 gong1 , dan4 qiu2 wu2 guo4] /lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes (idiom)/fig. to take a risk-averse approach/

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: 不求有功，但求無過

不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
求
qiú
to seek / to look for / to request / to demand / to beseech
有
yǒu
to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)
功
gōng
meritorious deed or service / achievement / result / service / accomplishment / work (physics)
但
dàn
but / yet / however / still / merely / only / just
求
qiú
to seek / to look for / to request / to demand / to beseech
无
mó
used in 南無|南无[nā mó]
wú
not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less
过
guò
to cross / to go over / to pass (time) / to celebrate (a holiday) / to live / to get along / excessively / too-
guo
(experienced action marker)
Guō
surname Guo

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.