三人行

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Chinese

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three man; person; people
to go; to do; capable
to go; to do; capable; all right; competent; OK; to travel; temporary; to walk; will do; behaviour; conduct; a row; profession; professional
 
simp. and trad.
(三人行)

Etymology

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A famous quote from the Analects:

子曰:「三人行。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子曰:「三人行。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐ yuē: “Sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī yān. Zé qí shàn zhě ér cóng zhī, qí bù shàn zhě ér gǎi zhī.” [Pinyin]
The Master said, “When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.”

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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三人行

  1. (literally) three people walking together
  2. (figurative, slang) threesome

Derived terms

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