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Chinese/Dictionary entry

不怕不识货，就怕货比货

bù pà bù shí huò , jiù pà huò bǐ huòdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. don't worry about not knowing goods, but about comparing them (proverb) / fig. goods' (or person's) true value can only be determined through comparison
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-b864391d970df846. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

不怕不識貨，就怕貨比貨 不怕不识货，就怕货比货 [bu4 pa4 bu4 shi2 huo4 , jiu4 pa4 huo4 bi3 huo4] /lit. don't worry about not knowing goods, but about comparing them (proverb)/fig. goods' (or person's) true value can only be determined through comparison/

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: 不怕不識貨，就怕貨比貨

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 怕
    pà

    to be afraid / to fear / to dread / to be unable to endure / perhaps

    Pà

    surname Pa

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 识
    shí

    to know / knowledge / Taiwan pr. [shì]

    zhì

    to record / to write a footnote

  • 货
    huò

    goods / money / commodity / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 就
    jiù

    (after a suppositional clause) in that case / then / (after a clause of action) as soon as / immediately after / (same as 就是[jiù shì]) merely / nothing else but / simply / just / precisely / exactly / only / as little as / as much as / as many as / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / (often followed by 著|着[zhe]) taking advantage of / (of food) to go with / with regard to / concerning / (bound form) to reach / to attain (as in 一蹴而就[yī cù ér jiù]) / (pattern: 就[jiù] ... 也[yě] ...) even if ... still ... / (pattern: 不[bù] ... 就[jiù] ...) if not ... then must be ...

  • 怕
    pà

    to be afraid / to fear / to dread / to be unable to endure / perhaps

    Pà

    surname Pa

  • 货
    huò

    goods / money / commodity / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 比
    bī

    See the full entry for source details.

    bǐ

    to compare / (followed by a noun and adjective) more {adj.} than {noun} / ratio / to gesture / (Taiwan pr. [bì] in some compounds derived from Classical Chinese)

    Bǐ

    Belgium / Belgian / abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bǐ lì shí]

  • 货
    huò

    goods / money / commodity / CL:個|个[gè]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.