君子不器

Chinese

		junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person; noble person; superior person	not; no	device; tool; utensil
trad. (君子不器)		君子	不	器
simp. ^#(君子不器)		君子	不	器

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 2 (《論語·爲政》):

子曰：「君子不器。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad. and simp.]

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

Zǐyuē: “Jūnzǐ bù qì.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil."

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jūnzǐbùqì

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄩㄣㄗˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gwan¹ zi² bat¹ hei³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jūnzǐbùqì [Phonetic: jūnzǐbúqì]
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄩㄣㄗˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jyunzǐhbùcì
  - Wade–Giles: chün¹-tzŭ³-pu⁴-chʻi⁴
  - Yale: jyūn-dž-bù-chì
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiuntzyybuchih
  - Palladius: цзюньцзыбуци (czjunʹczybuci)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕyn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gwan¹ zi² bat¹ hei³
  - Yale: gwān jí bāt hei
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gwan¹ dzi² bat⁷ hei³
  - Guangdong Romanization: guen¹ ji² bed¹ héi³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷɐn⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ hei̯³³/

Proverb

君子不器

A gentleman is no specialist; Unlike a tool fashioned for a specific purpose, a gentleman is well-rounded, someone who has talents suited to any task.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (君子不器):

→ Korean: 군자불기(君子不器) (gunjabulgi)
→ Vietnamese: quân tử bất khí (君子不器)

Others:

→ Japanese: 君(くん)子(し)は器(き)ならず (kunshi wa ki narazu) (calque)