五常

wǔcháng

noun

Meanings

1 the five Confucian virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness
2 the Permanent Five (P5 of the UN Security Council)

Characters

constant, permanent

Examples

HSK 7-9

仁义礼智信合称五常。

Rényì lǐ zhì xìn hé chēng wǔcháng.

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith together are called the five constants.

HSK 7-9

联合国安理会五常拥有否决权。

Liánhéguó Ānlǐhuì wǔcháng yōngyǒu fǒujué quán.

The P5 of the UN Security Council hold veto power.

Tips

usage

Two distinct modern senses. (1) Confucian: 五常 = 仁 (benevolence), 义 (righteousness), 礼 (propriety), 智 (wisdom), 信 (faithfulness) - the 'five' half of 三纲五常. (2) Geopolitical: shorthand for 安理会五常 'the P5' - China, France, Russia, UK, USA. Context disambiguates: ancient ethics text → sense 1; foreign-affairs news → sense 2.

Stroke Order

五 wǔ

常 cháng