以德报怨

以德報怨

yǐdé-bàoyuàn

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

HSK 4

她选择以德报怨，原谅了对方。

Tā xuǎnzé yǐdé-bàoyuàn, yuánliàng le duìfāng.

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

HSK 7-9

以德报怨不是懦弱，而是一种胸襟。

Yǐdé-bàoyuàn búshì nuòruò, érshì yì zhǒng xiōngjīn.

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

HSK 7-9

面对背叛，他依然选择以德报怨。

Miànduì bèipàn, tā yīrán xuǎnzé yǐdé-bàoyuàn.

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