Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Daoism -> Dao De Jing -> 41

	(Sameness and difference)
上士聞道，	Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Dao,
勤而行之；	earnestly carry it into practice.
中士聞道，	Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it,
若存若亡；	seem now to keep it and now to lose it.
下士聞道，	Scholars of the lowest class, when they have heard about it,
大笑之。	laugh greatly at it.
不笑不足以為道。	If it were not (thus) laughed at, it would not be fit to be the Dao.
故建言有之：	Therefore the sentence-makers have thus expressed themselves:
明道若昧；	'The Dao, when brightest seen, seems light to lack;
進道若退；	Who progress in it makes, seems drawing back;
夷道若纇；	Its even way is like a rugged track.
上德若谷；	Its highest virtue from the vale doth rise;
太白若辱；	Its greatest beauty seems to offend the eyes;
廣德若不足；	And he has most whose lot the least supplies.
建德若偷；	Its firmest virtue seems but poor and low;
質真若渝；	Its solid truth seems change to undergo;
大方無隅；	Its largest square doth yet no corner show
大器晚成；	A vessel great, it is the slowest made;
大音希聲；	Loud is its sound, but never word it said;
大象無形；	A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.'
道隱無名。	The Dao is hidden, and has no name;
夫唯道，善貸且成。	but it is the Dao which is skilful at imparting (to all things what they need) and making them complete.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
上	一+2	丄𠄞	shàng ㄕㄤˋ	top; superior, highest; go up, send up	v1,p0005#04	p.76#07	p.24r2c01
士	士+0		shì ㄕˋ	scholar, gentleman; soldier	v1,p0416#01	p.242#38	p.333r1c03
聞	耳+8	𦕁䎽䎹𦖫𥹢闻	wén ㄨㄣˊ	Hear. / Make hear. / Have heard, become aware of. / Knowledge, experience. / Rumour, saying. / Renowned, well-known. / Spread, disseminate.	v7,p4294#12	p.968#11	p.1084r3c01
			wèn ㄨㄣˋ	Reputation, fame. / Same as 「問(2)」 wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Inquire after, give regards to.
道	辵+9	𨕥衟𡬹	dào ㄉㄠˋ	Road, path. / Journey. / Method. / Law, reason. / Doctrine, claim. / Skill, technique. / Principle, right way. / The Dao, the origin of all things in Daoism. / Speak, talk. / Take a course of action. / Take a course of action. / Rites paid to the spirit of roads. / Ancient administrative unit. / Daoism.	v6,p3864#01	p.1262#06	p.1326r3c02
			dǎo ㄉㄠˇ	Lead. / Flow smoothly.
勤	力+11	懃瘽	qín ㄑㄧㄣˊ	industrious, diligent, attentive	v1,p0378#03	p.149#06	p.199r3c02
而	而+0		ér ㄦˊ	Whiskers. / Like, similar to. / Pronoun: you. / Pronoun: this, like this. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: and, then. / Connective: if, supposing. / Connective: yet, however. / Connective: therefore, hence. / Connective: expresses method or state. / Particle: of. / Expressive particle.	v4,p2810#01	p.961#18	p.1080r2c03
			néng ㄋㄥˊ	Same as 「能(3)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Able to, competent. / Same as 「能(2.1)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Ability, talent.
行	行+0	行	xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ	Walk, move (on foot). / Advance, move forward. / Leave, exit. / Patrol, go on inspection. / Inspection of the realm by the Son of Heaven. / Be married off. / Flow, circulate. / Channel, guide. / Revolution, circular motion. / Experience. / Luggage, belongings taken on a journey. / Do, carry out. / Actions. / Accomplishments. / Use, utilize. / Take over (an official duty). / Offer, present. / Moral conduct, behaviour. / A type of classical poem. / A piece of music. / Semi-cursive script. / Adverb: will, about to. / Adverb: again, once more. / Adverb: by chance, luckily. / Ambassador (official title). / Measure word for number of pourings of drinks.	v2,p0811#06	p.1108#31	p.1203r5c05
			háng ㄏㄤˊ	Road. / Track, pattern. / Row, line. / Row of soldiers in battle. / Unit of 25 soldiers. / Shaft of a feather (and by extension, wings). / Measure word for things which form rows. / Rank, position.
之	丿+3	㞢	zhī ㄓ	Towards; go to. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Auxiliary word: of. / Auxiliary word: used between subject and predicate, cancels independence of a clause. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning.	v1,p0043#01	p.82#04	p.47r2c02
中	丨+3	𠁧𠁩塚	zhōng zhòng ㄓㄨㄥㄓㄨㄥˋ	central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain	v1,p0028#10	p.79#03	p.37r4c02
若	艸+5	若𦱡𦱶𧁇	ruò ㄖㄨㄛˋ	Iris. / Same as 「北海若」 běi hǎi ruò ㄅㄟˇ ㄏㄞˇ ㄖㄨㄛˋ: Ruo, a god of the Northern Sea. / Go by, accord with. / Choose. / Like, similar to. / Identical, the same. / As good as, comparable to. / To, arrive at. / You, your. / This way, like this. / Regarding, as regards. / If, should it be the case. / Or, alternatively. / But, yet. / Adjectival suffix.	v5,p3187#07	p.1023#12	p.1130r1c03
存	子+3	𠩯	cún ㄘㄨㄣˊ	exist, live, be; survive; remain	v2,p1009#07	p.278#02	p.398r3c01
亡	亠+1	亾兦	wáng wú ㄨㄤˊ ㄨˊ	death, destroyed; lose, perish	v1,p0279#05	p.88#03	p.75r6c04
下	一+2	丅厥𠄟	xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ	under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down	v1,p0007#01	p.76#10	p.28r1c01
大	大+0	𠘲	dà ㄉㄚˋ	Large, great. / Exceed, be greater than. / Venerate, treat as being great. / Many. / Thick, coarse. / Elder. / Respectful term of address. / Adverb expressing high level or broad range.	v1,p0520#01	p.248#01	p.342r3c03
			tài ㄊㄞˋ	Most (superlative). / Too much. / Peaceful, tranquil.
笑	竹+4	咲㗛𠇄	xiào ㄒㄧㄠˋ	smile, laugh, giggle; snicker	v5,p2950#10	p.879#03	p.1008r5c02
不	一+3	不𠀚𠙐	bù ㄅㄨˋ	Not have. / To not be. / Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. / Negational adverb expressing prohibition: do not. / Negational adverb expressing rhetorical question: is not...?	v1,p0011#06	p.76#15	p.30r1c01
			fǒu ㄈㄡˇ	Same as 「否(1.2)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Same as 「否(1.3)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question.
			fū ㄈㄨ	Sepal of a flower.
			pī ㄆㄧ	Same as 「丕(1)」 pī ㄆㄧ: Large.
			bǐ ㄅㄧˇ	Show disdain for.
足	足+0	疋𤴕	zú jù ㄗㄨˊ ㄐㄩˋ	foot; attain, satisfy, enough	v6,p3686#01	p.1221#17	p.1287r6c03
以	人+3	㠯	yǐ ㄧˇ	Use. / Believe. / Command. / Lead. / Connect, implicate. / Have. / Cause, reason. / Preposition: because. / Preposition: from, in. / Preposition: at [some time]. / Preposition: using. / Preposition: in accordance with. / Preposition: relying upon. / Preposition: in the capacity of. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: indicates the following action is the objective of the preceding one. / Connective: used between adverbial clause and verb to express modification. / Connective: and. / Connective: but. / Connective: and so, thus. / Particle: used together with some words expressing direction and time. / Modal particle. / Same as 「已(1)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Stop, discontinue. / Same as 「已(7.2)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: already. / Same as 「已(7.3)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: extremely.	v1,p0105#07	p.94#01	p.87r6c01
為	火+5	爲为	wéi ㄨㄟˊ	Create, make. / Build, construct. / Do. / Plant, grow. / Govern. / Research, study. / Serve as. / Change into, become. / As, in the role of. / Count as, be considered as. / Called, named. / Expresses judgement: is. / Make, cause (to). / Have. / Take part in. / Write, author. / Connective: if. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to move forward the object. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence to express a rhetorical question.	v3,p2198#11	p.669#10	p.844r4c03
			wèi ㄨㄟˋ	Help, assist. / Preposition: for, on behalf of. / Preposition: by (passive). / Preposition: because of, due to. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: because. / Say. / False, fake.
故	攴+5		gù ㄍㄨˋ	Cause. / State of affairs. / Event, incident. / Plot. / Old. / Past, original. / Death. / On purpose. / Originally. / Hence, thus.	v2,p1453#05	p.469#25	p.601r5c01
建	廴+6		jiàn ㄐㄧㄢˋ	build, establish, erect, found	v1,p0404#10	p.353#04	p.496r6c01
言	言+0	訁𢍗𢍬	yán ㄧㄢˊ	Speak, say. / Discuss, debate. / Tell. / Doctrine, theory, words. / One word. / Sentence. / Particle, no meaning.	v6,p3936#01	p.1146#01	p.1236r5c03
有	月+2		yǒu ㄧㄡˇ	Have, possess. / Store, collect. / Occupy. / Hold on to, retain. / Have in abundance. / Good harvest. / Obtain. / Only. / Be, exist. / Occur, happen. / Make. / Particle used before a noun with no meaning. / Particle used before a monosyllabic adjective with no meaning. / Particle used before a verb with no meaning. / Still, yet. / Some people. / Region.	v3,p2041#05	p.504#20	p.656r5c01
			yòu ㄧㄡˋ	Help, assist. / Same as 「又(3)」 yòu ㄧㄡˋ: Moreover.
明	日+4	朙	míng ㄇㄧㄥˊ	Bright, brilliant. / Daytime. / Clear, obvious. / Clarify, make clear. / Understand. / Straightforwardly, clearly. / Clear, clean. / Wise. / Make wise. / Spirit, god. / Respect. / Eyesight. / Good eyesight. / See clearly. / The following (day, month, year, etc.).	v2,p1491#08	p.491#12	p.631r3c01
昧	日+5	𣆜	mèi ㄇㄟˋ	obscure, dark; darken	v2,p1497#01	p.493#12	p.637r6c01
進	辵+8	𨙟𨗃进	jìn ㄐㄧㄣˋ	advance, make progress, enter	v6,p3851#05	p.1259#30	p.1322r2c03
退	辵+6	𨓆𨑧𢓴𢓇𨔫	tuì ㄊㄨㄟˋ	step back, retreat, withdraw	v6,p3834#04	p.1256#14	p.1314r4c01
夷	大+3	𡰥	yí ㄧˊ	ancient barbarian tribes	v1,p0527#05	p.249#15	p.369r1c02
纇	糸+15	颣	lèi ㄌㄟˋ	knot; blemish, flaw, wicked	v7,p4392#09	p.942#30	p.1062r2c02
德	彳+12	惪悳	dé ㄉㄜˊ	Morals, morality. / Good deeds. / Good fortune. / Reward kindness, thank. / Heart, feelings. / Same as 「得(1.1)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Get, obtain.	v2,p0841#17	p.371#08	p.518r3c01
谷	谷+0	穀	gǔ ㄍㄨˇ	Valley, gorge. / Bewildered, at a loss.	v6,p3902#01	p.1189#01	p.1259r6c04
			lù ㄌㄨˋ	See "谷蠡".
太	大+1		tài ㄊㄞˋ	very, too, much; big; extreme	v1,p0524#01	p.248#10	p.354r5c01
白	白+0	𦣺𤼽	bái bó ㄅㄞˊ ㄅㄛˊ	white; pure, unblemished; bright	v4,p2642#01	p.785#01	p.927r1c01
辱	辰+3	𢟲	rǔ rù ㄖㄨˇ ㄖㄨˋ	humiliate, insult, abuse	v6,p3607#01	p.1252#21	p.1311r1c01
廣	广+12	广	guǎng ㄍㄨㄤˇ	broad, wide, extensive	v2,p0897#04	p.351#03	p.493r4c01
偷	人+9	偸	tōu ㄊㄡ	to steal, burglar, thief	v1,p0193#02	p.112#03
質	貝+8	貭质	zhì zhí ㄓˋ ㄓˊ	matter, material, substance	v6,p3648#08	p.1210#07	p.1277r4c01
真	目+5	眞	zhēn ㄓㄣ	real, actual, true, genuine	v1,p0249#07	p.805#01	p.950r2c04
渝	水+9		yú ㄩˊ	change; chongqing	v3,p1681#12	p.633#45	p.811r5c01
方	方+0	𤙗	fāng ㄈㄤ	Two boats in line. / Two boats travelling together. / Together, in a row. / Same, equivalent. / Comparison, metaphor. / Square. / Upright, honest. / Land, earth. / Vicinity, area around. / Place, area. / One side, one area. / Wooden board used for writing in ancient times. / (Medical) prescription. / Direction. / Convention. / Standard, rule. / The proper way. / Method, way. / Specialized techniques. / Occupy. / Disobey. / Preposition: just then. / Adverb: while. / Adverb: about to. / Adverb: just. / Criticism.	v3,p2172#01	p.481#03	p.619r4c01
			páng ㄆㄤˊ	Wide, universal.
無	火+8	𣟒𣚨𠘩无橆	wú ㄨˊ	Not have. / Philosophical category referring to absence, non-existence, or vacuity. / Adverb expressing negation: not. / Adverb expressing questioning: or not. / Connective: regardless of. / Connective: even if. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence, no meaning. / Do not. / Barren, uncultivated.	v3,p2211#15	p.673#26	p.848r2c04
隅	阜+9		yú ㄩˊ	corner, nook, remote place	v6,p4145#01	p.1356#19	p.1431r4c02
器	口+13	噐𡄛	qì ㄑㄧˋ	receptacle, vessel; instrument	v1,p0690#07	p.210#02	p.291r3c03
晚	日+7	晩𣆛	wǎn ㄨㄢˇ	night, evening; late	v2,p1514#04	p.495#34	p.641r3c01
成	戈+2	𢦩	chéng ㄔㄥˊ	completed, finished, fixed	v2,p1399#01	p.411#11
音	音+0		yīn yìn ㄧㄣㄧㄣˋ	sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation	v7,p4495#01	p.1396#25	p.1472r4c04
希	巾+4	稀𠬹	xī ㄒㄧ	rare; hope, expect, strive for	v1,p0731#19	p.329#18	p.473r2c03
聲	耳+11	殸声	shēng ㄕㄥ	sound, voice, noise; tone; music	v4,p2794#04	p.969#18	p.1085r3c01
象	豕+5	𤉢𧰼	xiàng ㄒㄧㄤˋ	elephant; ivory; figure, image	v6,p3611#09	p.1195#21	p.1262r5c04
形	彡+4		xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ	(1.1) 形體。 Body, thing with form.	v2,p0852#10	p.363#06	p.507r4c01
隱	阜+14	𤔌乚隐	yǐn yìn ㄧㄣˇ ㄧㄣˋ	hide, conceal; hidden, secret	v6,p4162#09	p.1362#15	p.1435r1c01
名	口+3		míng ㄇㄧㄥˊ	Name. / Writing. / To name, give a name to. / Call, refer to as. / Title, name of. / Title, status. / Fame, recognition. / Famous, well-known. / Large. / Between the eyebrows and eyelashes. / The School of Names.	v1,p0582#06	p.175#09	p.254r2c01
夫	大+1		fū ㄈㄨ	General term for adult men. / Adult labourers in particular. / Soldier. / Respectful term for a man. / Husband. / Unit of area equal to one hundred mu.	v1,p0521#01	p.248#11	p.367r2c01
			fú ㄈㄨˊ	Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Modal particle used at the start of a sentence for emphasis or to indicate an assertion. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to soften the tone. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence to express exclamation.
唯	口+8		wéi ㄨㄟˊ	Only, exclusively. / Connective: although, even though. / Connective: because. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express hope or desire. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express confirmation. / Particle, no meaning.	v1,p0642#05	p.193#17	p.277r1c02
			wěi ㄨㄟˇ	Sound of affirmation. / Affirm.
善	口+9	譱𦎍𠾄𧮟	shàn ㄕㄢˋ	Good. / Take to be good, like. / Good person. / Strong point, merit. / Perfect. / Gentle, kind. / Friendly. / Good at doing. / Improve, make good. / Control, regulate. / Food.	v1,p0660#02	p.197#18	p.282r3c04
貸	貝+5	贷	dài tè ㄉㄞˋ ㄊㄜˋ	lend; borrow; pardon	v6,p3634#02	p.1206#22	p.1272r6c01
且	一+4	𠀇𠀃	qiě ㄑㄧㄝˇ	This. / Connective: both, also. / Connective: and. / Connective: not only that, furthermore. / Connective: or. / Connective: not only, even. / Connective: if. / Adverb: will. / Adverb: briefly. / Adverb: almost. / Particle used at the start of a sentence.	v1,p0015#05	p.77#07	p.34r6c02
			jū ㄐㄩ	Appearance of a great many. / Exclamation. / Alternative name for the sixth month.
			cú ㄘㄨˊ	Go.

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