敬而遠之

See also: 敬而远之 and 敬遠

Chinese

		to respect; to venerate; to salute to respect; to venerate; to salute; to offer	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	far; distant; remote	's; him/her/it; this
trad. (敬而遠之)		敬	而	遠	之
simp. (敬而远之)		敬	而	远	之

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 6 (《論語·雍也》):

子曰：「務民之義，敬鬼神而遠之，可謂知矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子曰：「务民之义，敬鬼神而远之，可谓知矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐ yuē: “Wù mín zhī yì, jìng guǐshén ér yuàn zhī, kěwèi zhì yǐ.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "To give one's self earnestly to the duties due to men, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jìng'éryuǎnzhī, jìng'éryuànzhī

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄦˊ ㄩㄢˇ ㄓ, ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄦˊ ㄩㄢˋ ㄓ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ging³ ji⁴ jyun⁵ zi¹, ging³ ji⁴ jyun⁶ zi¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland; variant in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jìng'éryuǎnzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄦˊ ㄩㄢˇ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jìng-éryuǎnjhih
    • Wade–Giles: ching⁴-êrh²-yüan³-chih¹
    • Yale: jìng-ér-ywǎn-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinqerlyeuanjy
    • Palladius: цзинъэрюаньчжи (czinʺerjuanʹčži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ɥɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jìng'éryuànzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄦˊ ㄩㄢˋ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jìng-éryuànjhih
    • Wade–Giles: ching⁴-êrh²-yüan⁴-chih¹
    • Yale: jìng-ér-ywàn-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinqerlyuannjy
    • Palladius: цзинъэрюаньчжи (czinʺerjuanʹčži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ɥɛn⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ging³ ji⁴ jyun⁵ zi¹, ging³ ji⁴ jyun⁶ zi¹
    • Yale: ging yìh yúhn jī, ging yìh yuhn jī
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ging³ ji⁴ jyn⁵ dzi¹, ging³ ji⁴ jyn⁶ dzi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ging³ yi⁴ yun⁵ ji¹, ging³ yi⁴ yun⁶ ji¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɪŋ³³ jiː²¹ jyːn¹³ t͡siː⁵⁵/, /kɪŋ³³ jiː²¹ jyːn²² t͡siː⁵⁵/

Idiom

敬而遠之

1. to stay at a respectful distance from; to give a wide berth (to)

   • 我國經典，未經整理，讀起來特別難，一般人往往望而生畏，結果是敬而遠之。 [MSC, trad.]
     我国经典，未经整理，读起来特别难，一般人往往望而生畏，结果是敬而远之。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1942, 朱自清 (Zhu Ziqing), 經典常談

     Wǒguó jīngdiǎn, wèijīng zhěnglǐ, dú qǐlái tèbié nán, yībānrén wǎngwǎng wàng'érshēngwèi, jiéguǒ shì jìng'éryuǎnzhī. [Pinyin]

     Chinese classics are difficult to read uncollated. Ordinary people are often terrified by the sight of them, and prefer to remain at a respectful distance.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (敬而遠之):

• → Korean: 경이원지(敬而遠之) (gyeong'iwonji)
• → Vietnamese: kính nhi viễn chi (敬而遠之)

Korean

Hanja in this term
敬	而	遠	之

Noun

敬而遠之 • (gyeong'iwonji) (hangeul 경이원지)

1. Hanja form^? of 경이원지 (“staying at a respectful distance from, giving a wide berth (to)”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
敬	而	遠	之

Idiom

敬而遠之

1. chữ Hán form of kính nhi viễn chi (“to respectfully distance oneself”).