以德报怨

以德報怨

yǐdébàoyuàn

idiom

Meanings

1 to repay hatred with kindness
2 to return good for evil
3 to forgive rather than retaliate

Characters

with / by means of

virtue / kindness

resentment / hatred

Examples

她选择以德报怨，原谅了对方。

Tā xuǎnzé yǐ dé bào yuàn, yuánliàng le duìfāng.

She chose to repay hatred with kindness and forgave the other side.

以德报怨不是懦弱，而是一种胸襟。

Yǐ dé bào yuàn bù shì nuòruò, érshì yī zhǒng xiōngjīn.

Returning good for evil isn't weakness; it's breadth of character.

面对背叛，他依然选择以德报怨。

Miànduì bèipàn, tā yīrán xuǎnzé yǐ dé bào yuàn.

Faced with betrayal, he still chose to answer with kindness.

Tips

history

From 《论语·宪问》: when asked 以德报怨何如 ('How about repaying hatred with kindness?'), Confucius answered 何以报德？以直报怨，以德报德 — 'Then what do you repay kindness with? Repay hatred with fairness, and kindness with kindness.' The idiom survived as a moral ideal, though Confucius himself preferred proportionate fairness.

Stroke Order

以 yǐ

德 dé

报 bào

怨 yuàn