多行不义必自毙

多行不義必自斃

duōxíngbúyìbìzìbì

idiom

Meanings

1 those who persist in wrongdoing will destroy themselves — evil-doers bring about their own downfall
2 literally: those who do many unrighteous deeds will inevitably perish by themselves

Characters

Examples

他贪得无厌，多行不义必自毙，终究落得身败名裂。

Tā tān dé wú yàn, duō xíng bú yì bì zì bì, zhōngjiū luò de shēn bài míng liè.

Insatiably greedy, he brought about his own ruin — those who pile up wrongs destroy themselves.

多行不义必自毙，等着看他的下场吧。

Duō xíng bú yì bì zì bì, děng zhe kàn tā de xiàchǎng ba.

Wrongdoers seal their own fate — wait and see how he ends up.

Tips

history

From 《左传·隐公元年》 (Zuo Zhuan, Lord Yin year 1), the classic Chinese historical commentary. Duke Zhuang of Zheng's mother and brother Gongshu Duan were plotting rebellion; Zhuang deliberately let his brother's ambitions grow, remarking 多行不义必自毙，子姑待之 — 'One who does many unrighteous deeds will destroy himself; my son, just wait.' And indeed Gongshu Duan's revolt collapsed.

usage

Moralising register — used in editorials, fiction, and everyday speech to predict or retrospectively explain a villain's comeuppance. 毙 here means to perish / come to ruin.

Stroke Order

多 duō

行 xíng

不 bù

义 yì

必 bì

自 zì

毙 bì