不恥下問

See also: 不耻下问

Chinese

not; no shame; disgrace to ask someone who is less learned or of lesser status than oneself
trad. (不恥下問) 不 恥 下問
simp. (不耻下问) 不 耻 下问

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 5 (《論語·公冶長》):

子貢問曰：「孔文子何以謂之文也？」子曰：「敏而好學，不恥下問，是以謂之文也。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
子贡问曰：「孔文子何以谓之文也？」子曰：「敏而好学，不耻下问，是以谓之文也。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐgòng wèn yuē: “Kǒng Wén Zǐ héyǐ wèi zhī wén yě?” Zǐ yuē: “Mǐn ér hào xué, bù chǐ xiàwèn, shìyǐ wèi zhī wén yě.” [Pinyin]
Zigong asked, saying, "On what ground did Kong Wen get that title of Wen?" The Master said, "He was of an active nature and yet fond of learning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors! On these grounds he has been styled Wen."

Pronunciation

Idiom

不恥下問

  1. to be not ashamed to learn from one's subordinates
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.