君子喻於義,小人喻於利

Chinese

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allegory
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
 
justice; righteousness; meaning scoundrel or villain; person of low position allegory
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
 
advantage; benefit; profit
advantage; benefit; profit; sharp
 
trad. (君子喻於義,小人喻於利) 君子 小人
simp. (君子喻于义,小人喻于利) 君子 小人
Literally: “A high-minded person knows with regard to righteousness, a small-minded person knows with regard to profit”.

Etymology

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From the Analects, Book 4 (《論語·里仁》):

子曰君子喻於義、小人喻於利 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子曰君子喻于义、小人喻于利 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐ yuē, jūnzǐ yù yú yì, xiǎorén yù yú lì. [Pinyin]
The Master said, "The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain."

Pronunciation

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Proverb

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君子喻於義,小人喻於利

  1. High-minded people value doing the right thing, but low-minded people value doing the profitable thing