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Chinese/Dictionary entry

虱子多了不痒，债多了不愁

shī zi duō le bù yǎng , zhài duō le bù chóudictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) when covered with lice, one doesn't feel the itching anymore, and when up to one's ears in debt, one ceases to worry about it (saying) / (fig.) to be past worrying (about sth)
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-57eee0fe5dd368ac. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

虱子多了不癢，債多了不愁 虱子多了不痒，债多了不愁 [shi1 zi5 duo1 le5 bu4 yang3 , zhai4 duo1 le5 bu4 chou2] /(lit.) when covered with lice, one doesn't feel the itching anymore, and when up to one's ears in debt, one ceases to worry about it (saying)/(fig.) to be past worrying (about sth)/

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: 虱子多了不癢，債多了不愁

  • 虱
    shī

    louse

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 多
    duō

    many / much / more / a lot of / too many / in excess / (after a numeral) ... odd / how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duó]) / (bound form) multi- / poly-

  • 了
    le

    (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

    liǎo

    to finish / (used with 得[dé] or 不[bù] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wàng bu liǎo] "cannot forget") / (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wú] or 不[bù]) completely (not) / entirely (not) / (not) in the least / (bound form) clear in one's mind / to understand clearly

    liào

    See the full entry for source details.

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 痒
    yǎng

    to itch / to tickle

  • 债
  • 多
    duō

    many / much / more / a lot of / too many / in excess / (after a numeral) ... odd / how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duó]) / (bound form) multi- / poly-

  • 了
    le

    (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

    liǎo

    to finish / (used with 得[dé] or 不[bù] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wàng bu liǎo] "cannot forget") / (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wú] or 不[bù]) completely (not) / entirely (not) / (not) in the least / (bound form) clear in one's mind / to understand clearly

    liào

    See the full entry for source details.

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 愁
    chóu

    to worry about

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.