见不贤而内自省也

見不賢而內自省也

jiànbùxián'érnèizìxǐngyě

phrase

Meanings

1 on seeing the unworthy, examine yourself inwardly
2 use others' faults as a mirror for your own
3 (lit.) seeing the unvirtuous, inwardly self-examining

Characters

virtuous / worthy

to reflect / examine

(classical final particle)

Examples

见贤思齐，见不贤而内自省也——这是儒家修身的基本功。

Jiànxián sīqí, jiàn bùxián ér nèi zìxǐng yě — zhè shì Rújiā xiūshēn de jīběngōng.

'See the virtuous and aspire to match them; see the unvirtuous and examine yourself' — a cornerstone of Confucian self-cultivation.

批评别人之前，最好见不贤而内自省也。

Pīpíng biérén zhīqián, zuì hǎo jiàn bùxián ér nèi zìxǐng yě.

Before criticizing others, it's best to first look inward for the same flaws.

Tips

history

From 《论语·里仁》: 子曰：见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。(The Master said: on seeing a worthy man, think of equalling him; on seeing an unworthy one, examine yourself inwardly.) One of the Analects' most quoted lines on self-cultivation — the point is to treat every encounter as a mirror.

usage

省 is read xǐng here (to reflect), not shěng (to save). Always paired with 见贤思齐. 也 is a classical final particle, not 'also.'

Stroke Order

见 jiàn

不 bù

贤 xián

而 ér

内 nèi

自 zì

省 shěng

也 yě