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嘴上无毛，办事不牢

zuǐ shàng wú máo , bàn shì bù láodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
see 嘴上沒毛，辦事不牢|嘴上没毛，办事不牢[zuǐ shàng méi máo , bàn shì bù láo]
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-f7683defe44f5964. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

嘴上無毛，辦事不牢 嘴上无毛，办事不牢 [zui3 shang4 wu2 mao2 , ban4 shi4 bu4 lao2] /see 嘴上沒毛，辦事不牢|嘴上没毛，办事不牢[zui3 shang4 mei2 mao2 , ban4 shi4 bu4 lao2]/

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: 嘴上無毛，辦事不牢

  • 嘴
    zuǐ

    mouth / beak / nozzle / spout (of teapot etc) / CL:張|张[zhāng],個|个[gè]

  • 上
    shǎng

    used in 上聲|上声[shǎng shēng]

    shàng

    (bound form) up / upper / above / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on / above

  • 无
    mó

    used in 南無|南无[nā mó]

    wú

    not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less

  • 毛
    máo

    hair / feather / down / wool / mildew / mold / coarse or semifinished / young / raw / careless / unthinking / nervous / scared / (of currency) to devalue or depreciate / classifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = 角[jiǎo] , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen 分[fēn])

    Máo

    surname Mao

  • 办
    bàn

    to take care of (a matter) / to deal with (a task, procedure etc) / to organize (an event) / to establish / to set up / to manage / to run (an enterprise) / (law) to handle / to investigate / to prosecute (a case or suspect) / (bound form) office (as in 招辦|招办[zhāo bàn], admissions office) (abbr. for 辦公室|办公室[bàn gōng shì])

  • 事
    shì

    matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 牢
    láo

    (literary) pen / fold (for livestock) / prison / jail / firm / secure / fast

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.