小人喻于利

小人喻於利

xiǎorén yù yú lì

quotation

Meanings

1 the petty person is motivated by profit
2 the low-minded understand things only through self-interest
3 (lit.) the small person is enlightened by profit

Characters

person (小人 = petty / base person)

to understand / be enlightened by

Examples

HSK 5

他只看钱，果然小人喻于利。

Tā zhǐ kàn qián, guǒrán xiǎorén yù yú lì.

He only looks at money, truly the petty man is moved only by profit.

HSK 7-9

君子喻于义，小人喻于利，孔子区分两种人的根本标准。

Jūnzǐ yù yú yì, xiǎorén yù yú lì, Kǒngzǐ qūfēn liǎng zhǒng rén de gēnběn biāozhǔn.

'The gentleman is motivated by righteousness, the petty person by profit', Confucius's fundamental distinction between the two.

Tips

history

From 《论语·里仁》: 子曰：君子喻于义，小人喻于利. (The Master said: the gentleman understands through righteousness; the petty person understands through profit.) One of the Analects' sharpest moral distinctions. 小人 is not 'little person' but 'morally petty / narrow-minded.'

usage

Always quoted alongside its partner 君子喻于义. 喻于 ('to be enlightened by / understand through') is classical usage; the idea is that profit is the lens through which the 小人 sees everything.

Stroke Order

小 xiǎo

人 rén

喻 yù

于 yú

利 lì