The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

四体不勤，五谷不分

sì tǐ bù qín , wǔ gǔ bù fēndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
never move your four limbs, can't distinguish the five crops (idiom) / living as a parasite
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-f7807839860437f3. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

四體不勤，五穀不分 四体不勤，五谷不分 [si4 ti3 bu4 qin2 , wu3 gu3 bu4 fen1] /never move your four limbs, can't distinguish the five crops (idiom); living as a parasite/

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: 四體不勤，五穀不分

  • 四
    sì

    four / 4

  • 体
    tī

    used in 體己|体己[tī ji] / Taiwan pr. [tǐ]

    tǐ

    body / form / style / system / substance / to experience / aspect (linguistics)

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 勤
    qín

    diligent / industrious / hardworking / frequent / regular / constant / (bound form) work / duty / attendance / (literary) diligent / industrious / hardworking (variant of 勤[qín]) / (literary) solicitous / attentive

  • 五
    wǔ

    five / 5

  • 谷
    gǔ

    grain / corn / valley

    Gǔ

    surname Gu

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 分
    fēn

    to divide / to separate / to distribute / to allocate / to distinguish (good and bad) / (bound form) branch of (an organization) / sub- (as in 分局[fēn jú]) / fraction / one tenth (of certain units) / unit of length equivalent to 0.33 cm / minute (unit of time) / minute (angular measurement unit) / a point (in sports or games) / 0.01 yuan (unit of money)

    fèn

    part / share / ingredient / component

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.