How do you pronounce 敬而远之?

敬而远之 is pronounced jìng ér yuǎn zhī in Mandarin Chinese.

Where does 敬而远之 come from?

敬而远之 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 敬而远之?

表面上表示尊敬，实际上不愿接近。也用作不愿接近某人的讽刺话。

敬而远之 — “Respect them but keep away from them”

敬而远之 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to keep someone at arm's length, showing outward respect but avoiding close contact; often used to express a desire to subtly avoid someone or something”. Literally, “Respect them but keep away from them”.

Frequency

敬而远之 Pronunciation and Pinyin

敬jìng
而ér
远yuǎn
之zhī

敬而远之 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
敬	jìng	13	respect, revere, offer respectfully
而	ér	6	and, but, then
远	yuǎn	7	far, distant, remote
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle

Example Sentence with 敬而远之

对于那些言行不一的人，我们最好敬而远之，以免给自己带来不必要的麻烦。

For those whose words do not match their actions, it is best to keep them at a respectful distance to avoid unnecessary trouble for ourselves.

Origin and Story of 敬而远之

During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius believed that 'Ren' (benevolence or humanity) encompassed many virtues, including reverence, generosity, trustworthiness, diligence, kindness, wisdom, courage, loyalty, forgiveness, filial piety, and fraternal respect.

The fundamental principles for practicing 'Ren' were 'Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself,' and 'Wishing to be established himself, seeks to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, seeks to enlarge others.'

Once, his student Fan Chi asked what truly constituted wisdom. Confucius responded, 'To dedicate oneself to what is righteous for the common people, and to respect spiritual beings while keeping them at a distance – this can indeed be called wisdom.'

Idioms Related to 敬而远之

Synonyms of 敬而远之

Antonyms of 敬而远之

More idioms starting with 敬

Questions about 敬而远之

What does 敬而远之 mean?: 敬而远之 (jìng ér yuǎn zhī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to keep someone at arm's length, showing outward respect but avoiding close contact; often used to express a desire to subtly avoid someone or something”.
How do you pronounce 敬而远之?: 敬而远之 is pronounced jìng ér yuǎn zhī in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 敬而远之 literally mean?: Literally, 敬而远之 means “Respect them but keep away from them”. It is used to mean “to keep someone at arm's length, showing outward respect but avoiding close contact; often used to express a desire to subtly avoid someone or something”.
Where does 敬而远之 come from?: 敬而远之 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 敬而远之?: 表面上表示尊敬，实际上不愿接近。也用作不愿接近某人的讽刺话。

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