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

Jūnzǐ chéng rén zhī měi, 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.
Jìrán tāmen qíngtóuyìhé, wǒmen jiù jūnzǐ chéng rén zhī měi ba.
Since they're well matched, let's play the gentleman and help their good thing along.

Tips

history
From 《·》 (Analects, 'Yanyuan'): 君子成人不成 — '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 ('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

jūn
chéng
rén
zhī
měi