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不愤不启

bù fèn bù qǐdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
a student shall not be enlightened until he has tried hard by himself (idiom)
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-aebc37b55aa68791. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

不憤不啟 不愤不启 [bu4 fen4 bu4 qi3] /a student shall not be enlightened until he has tried hard by himself (idiom)/

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: 不憤不啟

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 愤
    fèn

    indignant / anger / resentment

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 启
    qǐ

    to open / to start / to initiate / to enlighten or awaken / to state / to inform

    Qǐ

    Qi son of Yu the Great 禹[Yǔ], reported founder of the Xia Dynasty 夏朝[Xià Cháo] (c. 2070-c. 1600 BC)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.