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君子成人之美

jūnzǐchéngrénzhīměi
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 the gentleman helps bring others' good intentions to fruition
  2. 2 a person of virtue supports others' worthy aims
  3. 3 to help someone succeed in a good endeavor

Examples

HSK 5
君子成人之美，我当然愿意帮你完成这个项目。
Jūnzǐchéngrénzhīměi, wǒ dāngrán yuànyì bāng nǐ wánchéng zhège xiàngmù.
A gentleman helps others accomplish good things - of course I'm willing to help you finish this project.
HSK 7-9
既然他们情投意合，我们就君子成人之美吧。
Jìrán tāmen qíngtóuyìhé, wǒmen jiù jūnzǐchéngrénzhīměi ba.
Since they're well matched, let's play the gentleman and help their good thing along.

Tips

history
From 《论语·颜渊》 (Analects, 'Yanyuan'): 子曰：君子成人之美，不成人之恶 - 'The Master said: the gentleman helps bring others' good to completion, not their evil.' A foundational Confucian statement on social virtue: enable what is worthy in others, oppose what is harmful.
usage
Often quoted with its twin 不成人之恶 ('does not help others' evil'). In modern Chinese, the phrase is frequently used to politely offer help with a friend's romance, wedding, or career opportunity - 'let's do the gentlemanly thing and make it happen.'

Stroke Order

君 jūn
子 zǐ
成 chéng
人 rén
之 zhī
美 měi