人不知而不愠

人不知而不慍

rén bù zhī ér bù yùn

quotation

Meanings

1 unrecognized by others yet not resentful
2 (the Confucian ideal) to remain unruffled when others fail to understand or appreciate you
3 (lit.) people do not know yet (one) is not resentful

Characters

yet (classical conjunction)

愠

yùn

to resent / sulk

Examples

他做事低调，人不知而不愠，正是君子之风。

Tā zuòshì dīdiào, rénbùzhī'érbùyùn, zhèngshì jūnzǐ zhī fēng.

He works quietly — 'unrecognized yet not resentful,' the very style of a gentleman.

学问越深，越懂人不知而不愠的道理。

Xuéwèn yuè shēn, yuè dǒng rénbùzhī'érbùyùn de dàolǐ.

The deeper one's learning, the better one understands 'unrecognized yet unoffended.'

Tips

history

From 《论语·学而》, the opening chapter of the Analects: 学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？ (To learn and regularly practice — is that not a joy? Friends from afar — is that not a pleasure? Unrecognized yet unresentful — is that not a gentleman?). The third of Confucius's three opening rhetorical questions, and the moral climax: inner equanimity in the absence of outer recognition.

usage

愠 yùn = 'resentful, sulking' — less intense than 怒 (rage), more like quiet irritation. Nearly always quoted with the following line 不亦君子乎.

Stroke Order

人 rén

不 bù

知 zhī

而 ér

愠 yùn