人不知而不愠

人不知而不慍

rénbùzhīérbùyùn

phrase

Meanings

1 unrecognized by others yet not resentful
2 (the Confucian ideal) to remain unruffled when others fail to understand or appreciate you
3 (lit.) people do not know yet (one) is not resentful

Characters

yet (classical conjunction)

Examples

他做事低调，人不知而不愠，正是君子之风。

Tā zuòshì dīdiào, rén bù zhī ér bù yùn, zhèng shì jūnzǐ zhī fēng.

He works quietly — 'unrecognized yet not resentful,' the very style of a gentleman.

学问越深，越懂人不知而不愠的道理。

Xuéwèn yuè shēn, yuè dǒng rén bù zhī ér bù yùn de dàolǐ.

The deeper one's learning, the better one understands 'unrecognized yet unoffended.'

Tips

history

From 《论语·学而》, the opening chapter of the Analects: 学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？ (To learn and regularly practice — is that not a joy? Friends from afar — is that not a pleasure? Unrecognized yet unresentful — is that not a gentleman?). The third of Confucius's three opening rhetorical questions, and the moral climax: inner equanimity in the absence of outer recognition.

usage

愠 yùn = 'resentful, sulking' — less intense than 怒 (rage), more like quiet irritation. Nearly always quoted with the following line 不亦君子乎.

Stroke Order

人 rén

不 bù

知 zhī

而 ér

愠 yùn