趋利避害

趨利避害
qūlìbìhài
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to seek benefit and avoid harm
  2. 2 to pursue advantages while avoiding risks
  3. 3 to maximize gains and minimize losses

Examples

Qūlìbìhài shì rén de běnnéng.
Seeking gain and avoiding harm is a basic human instinct.
Tóuzīzhě bìxū xuéhuì qūlìbìhài, hélǐ fēnsàn fēngxiǎn.
Investors must learn to pursue gains while avoiding risks, and diversify reasonably.

Tips

usage
Neutral to positive — used in economics, investing, policy, and evolutionary-biology contexts. Often as predicate of a principle (...本能) or as a verb phrase describing rational behavior.
memory
Two verb+noun pairs: (pursue benefit) + (avoid harm). The antonym structure (pursue vs avoid, benefit vs harm) makes it easy to parse.

Stroke Order

hài