见贤思齐

見賢思齊

jiànxián-sīqí

idiom

Meanings

1 on seeing a worthy person, think of matching them
2 to emulate those who are virtuous
3 to strive to be like admirable people

Characters

worthy; virtuous person

to think; consider

equal; even; match

Examples

HSK 2

他有见贤思齐的好习惯。

Tā yǒu jiànxián-sīqí de hǎo xíguàn.

He has the good habit of wanting to emulate those who are better than him.

HSK 3

我们应该见贤思齐，不断提高自己。

Wǒmen yīnggāi jiànxián-sīqí, bùduàn tígāo zìjǐ.

We should aspire to match the virtuous and keep improving ourselves.

HSK 7-9

见贤思齐是一种可贵的品质。

Jiànxián-sīqí shì yī zhǒng kěguì de pǐnzhí.

The drive to emulate the virtuous is a rare quality.

Tips

history

Directly from the Analects 《论语·里仁》: '见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也' - 'seeing the worthy, think of matching them; seeing the unworthy, examine yourself within'. One of Confucius's core self-cultivation instructions.

culture

Still a staple of classroom moral education and school mottos. Paired with 内自省 (self-reflection on seeing others' faults) as the full Confucian learning posture.

Stroke Order

见 jiàn

贤 xián

思 sī

齐 qí