路见不平

路見不平

lùjiàn-bùpíng

idiom

Meanings

1 to witness an injustice on the road
2 to see wrong being done and feel compelled to intervene

Characters

to see; witness

fair; level; just

Examples

HSK 3

现代社会还有多少人会路见不平呢？

Xiàndài shèhuì háiyǒu duōshǎo rén huì lùjiàn-bùpíng ne?

How many people in modern society will still stand up when they see injustice?

HSK 7-9

路见不平，拔刀相助，是古人的侠义精神。

Lùjiàn-bùpíng, bá dāo xiāngzhù, shì gǔrén de xiáyì jīngshén.

'See injustice on the road, draw your sword to help' - this is the chivalric spirit of the ancients.

HSK 7-9

他路见不平，立刻上前制止。

Tā lùjiàn-bùpíng, lìkè shàngqián zhìzhǐ.

Seeing the injustice, he stepped in at once to stop it.

Tips

history

From 《水浒传》 Chapter 17: 俺却路见不平，直送他到沧州，救了他一命 - 'seeing wrong on the road, I escorted him all the way to Cangzhou and saved his life.' Almost always paired with 拔刀相助 ('draw sword to help') in the full form.

culture

Core value of 侠 - the wandering-knight ethic in Chinese martial-arts stories (武侠). Wuxia heroes from the Water Margin to Jin Yong's novels live by this code: step in when you see injustice, regardless of personal cost.

Stroke Order

路 lù

见 jiàn

不 bù

平 píng