君子喻于义

君子喻於義

jūnzǐyùyúyì

phrase

Meanings

1 the gentleman grasps things in terms of righteousness
2 a person of virtue is motivated by duty, not gain
3 (lit.) the gentleman comprehends via righteousness

Characters

(respectful suffix)

understand / be moved by

by / at (classical)

righteousness / duty

Examples

孔子说君子喻于义，小人喻于利，做人要懂得这个分别。

Kǒngzǐ shuō jūnzǐ yù yú yì, xiǎorén yù yú lì, zuòrén yào dǒngde zhège fēnbié.

Confucius said the gentleman grasps via righteousness, the petty man via profit — one should know the distinction.

做生意也讲君子喻于义，不能光想着赚钱。

Zuò shēngyì yě jiǎng jūnzǐ yù yú yì, bùnéng guāng xiǎng zhe zhuànqián.

Even in business, the gentleman reckons by righteousness — you can't think only about money.

Tips

history

From 《论语·里仁》 (Analects: Li Ren). Confucius says: 『君子喻于义，小人喻于利』— 'the gentleman is moved by righteousness; the petty person is moved by profit.' A classic formulation of the Confucian moral divide between 义 (duty/rightness) and 利 (gain).

usage

喻 here means 'to be enlightened by / to comprehend via' — a slightly archaic usage. 于 is the classical preposition 'by / at.' Almost always quoted with its pair 『小人喻于利』.

Stroke Order

君 jūn

子 zǐ

喻 yù

于 yú

义 yì