# 怙恶不悛

hù è bù quān

Persist in wrongdoing without remorse

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Cling to evil and refuse reform

**Traditional Chinese:** 怙惡不悛

**Register:** Severe · literary

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Condemn repeated serious misconduct after correction.

A severe moral judgment, not ordinary stubbornness.

## Understanding the expression

The expression joins continued attachment to wrongdoing with refusal to change. It is stronger than describing a single mistake, because the person has opportunities to reconsider yet persists. Formal criticism and accounts of serious offenders often use it. The label should rest on an established pattern rather than a disagreement over preferences. Its focus is the refusal of reform, so the sentence can mention prior warnings, repeated harm, or evidence of deliberate continuation.

## Examples

他屡次诈骗，仍怙恶不悛。

### Traditional Chinese

他屢次詐騙，仍怙惡不悛。

tā lǚ cì zhà piàn ， réng hù è bù quān 。

He persists in repeated fraud without remorse.

判决指出被告怙恶不悛。

### Traditional Chinese

判決指出被告怙惡不悛。

pàn jué zhǐ chū bèi gào hù è bù quān 。

The judgment states that the defendant refuses reform.

小说中的恶霸怙恶不悛，继续欺压村民。

### Traditional Chinese

小說中的惡霸怙惡不悛，繼續欺壓村民。

xiǎo shuō zhōng de è bà hù è bù quān ， jì xù qī yā cūn mín 。

The novel's bully keeps oppressing villagers without remorse.

不能把孩子一次犯错说成怙恶不悛。

### Traditional Chinese

不能把孩子一次犯錯說成怙惡不悛。

bù néng bǎ hái zi yí cì fàn cuò shuō chéng hù è bù quān 。

One child's mistake does not justify such severe condemnation.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%80%99%E6%83%A1%E4%B8%8D%E6%82%9B)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=537&webMd=1&la=0)

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