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。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

子曰：「务民之义，敬鬼神而远之，可谓知矣。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, 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

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

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)

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

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