| Chinese Text Project |
| 子貢問為仁。 | Zi Gong asked about the practice of virtue. |
| 子曰： | The Master said, |
| 「工欲善其事， | "The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, |
| 必先利其器。 | must first sharpen his tools. |
| 居是邦也， | When you are living in any state, |
| 事其大夫之賢者， | take service with the most worthy among its great officers, |
| 友其士之仁者。」 | and make friends of the most virtuous among its scholars." |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 子貢 | 子+0 貝+3 | 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 贡 | zǐ gòng ㄗˇ ㄍㄨㄥˋ | Same as 「端木賜」 duān mù cì ㄉㄨㄢ ㄇㄨˋ ㄘˋ: 姓端木，名賜，字子貢，孔子的學生。 Duan-mu Ci, a student of Confucius. | v2,p1006#06 v6,p3624#05 | p.277#01 p.1205#01 | p.395r1c01 p.1269r6c01 |
| 問 | 口+8 | 𠳅 问 | wèn ㄨㄣˋ | Ask, inquire. / Investigate, look into. / Inquire after, give regards to. / Interrogate, question. / Visit (another states). / Research, investigate. / Give, present with. / Tell. / Sound. / Same as 「聞(7)」 wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Reputation, fame. | v7,p4284#03 | p.195#10 | p.279r3c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 仁 | 人+2 | 忈 忎 𡰥 | rén ㄖㄣˊ | humaneness, benevolence, kindness | v1,p0107#01 | p.91#07 | |
| 子 | 子+0 | 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | zǐ ㄗˇ | (2.1) 古代對男子的美稱。也用以尊稱對方。 Respectful term for a man. | v2,p1006#06 | p.277#01 | p.395r1c01 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 說。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 工 | 工+0 | 𢀚 㣉 𠜝 | gōng ㄍㄨㄥ | labor, work; worker, laborer | v1,p0410#06 | p.325#01 | p.463r2c02 |
| 欲 | 欠+7 | 慾 | yù ㄩˋ | desire, want, long for; intend | v3,p2140#07 | p.567#36 | p.729r4c02 |
| 善 | 口+9 | 譱 𦎍 𠾄 𧮟 | shàn ㄕㄢˋ | (8) 擅長，精通。 Good at doing. | v1,p0660#02 | p.197#18 | p.282r3c04 |
| 其 | 八+6 | 丌 亓 | qí ㄑㄧˊ | (1.1) 代詞：表示第三人領屬關係，相當於「他的」、「它的」等。 Third-person possessive pronoun: his, her, its, their. | v1,p0245#01 | p.127#18 | p.162r5c01 |
| 事 | 亅+7 | 亊 叓 𠭏 | shì ㄕˋ | Office, duty. / Job, career. / Things, affairs. / Accident, incident. / Engage (in), pursue. / Serve. | v1,p0023#03 | p.85#24 | p.58r3c02 |
| 必 | 心+1 | bì ㄅㄧˋ | surely, most certainly; must | v4,p2267#02 | p.375#02 | p.522r5c01 | |
| 先 | 儿+4 | xiān ㄒㄧㄢ | first, former, previous | v1,p0267#02 | p.124#05 | p.134r3c02 | |
| 利 | 刀+5 | 利 𥝢 𥝤 | lì ㄌㄧˋ | Sharp. / Fast, speedy. / Favourable, lucky. / Convenient, useful. / Profits, benefits. / Beneficial to, good for. / Profit, interest. / Diarrhea. | v1,p0329#02 | p.138#19 | p.180r2c02 |
| 器 | 口+13 | 噐 𡄛 | qì ㄑㄧˋ | receptacle, vessel; instrument | v1,p0690#07 | p.210#02 | p.291r3c03 |
| 居 | 尸+5 | 㞐 㝒 | jū ㄐㄩ | Sit down. / Wait. / Live, dwell. / Dwelling, residence. / Tomb. / Rank, position occupied. / Person occupying the rank of ruler. / Live peacefully. / Usually, normally. / Located in. / Defend (a post), guard (a region). / Remain behind to handle matters. / Have, possess. / Employ, implement. / Stop, rest, remain. / Store, stockpile. / Raise, rear (livestock). / Used before times expressing time elapsed: after. | v2,p0968#04 | p.300#30 | p.448r1c02 |
| jǔ ㄐㄩˇ | Movement, action. | ||||||
| jù ㄐㄩˋ | Arrogant. / Straight. / Saw. | ||||||
| jī ㄐㄧ | Modal particle expressing exclamation or questioning. | ||||||
| 是 | 日+5 | 昰 𣆞 | shì ㄕˋ | Straight. / Right, correct. / Believe accurate, affirm. / Demonstrative pronoun: this. / Be (copula). / Auxiliary word, used after moving forward the object. | v2,p1497#05 | p.493#26 | p.639r1c01 |
| 邦 | 邑+4 | 𤰫 𨚚 邫 | bāng ㄅㄤ | nation, country, state | v6,p3756#14 | p.1269#05 | p.1336r4c01 |
| 也 | 乙+2 | 𠃟 匜 | yě ㄧㄝˇ | Modal particle used at the end of a sentence, expressing assertion and affirmation. / Modal particle used at the end of a question for emphasis. / Modal particle used at the end of a cause-effect sentence to express explanation. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause. | v1,p0050#05 | p.84#04 | p.55r1c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 賢 | 貝+8 | 臤 贒 贤 | xián ㄒㄧㄢˊ | virtuous, worthy, good; able | v6,p3646#06 | p.1209#28 | p.1276r5c02 |
| 者 | 老+4 | zhě ㄓㄜˇ | Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. / Pronoun used after numbers in place of a thing. / Pronoun used after time or negation to express "when" or "if". / Expressive particle used in a declarative sentence after the subject. / Expressive particle used in a sentence after the subject to express cause or explanation. | v4,p2780#05 | p.961#01 | p.1080r1c01 | |
| zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ | In, located in. | ||||||
| 友 | 又+2 | 㕛 𠬺 𦐮 𦫹 𦐯 | yǒu ㄧㄡˇ | friend, companion; fraternity | v1,p0391#01 | p.165#06 | p.233r6c04 |
| 士 | 士+0 | shì ㄕˋ | scholar, gentleman; soldier | v1,p0416#01 | p.242#38 | p.333r1c03 |
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