無友不如己者

Chinese

		not have	friend	to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as; cannot compare to; to be inferior to	self	‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something)
trad. (無友不如己者)		無	友	不如	己	者
simp. (无友不如己者)		无	友	不如	己	者

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 1 (《論語·學而》):

子曰：「君子不重則不威，學則不固。主忠信，無友不如己者，過則勿憚改。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子曰：「君子不重则不威，学则不固。主忠信，无友不如己者，过则勿惮改。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

Zǐ yuē: “Jūnzǐ bù zhòng zé bù wēi, xué zé bù gù. Zhǔ zhōngxìn, wú yǒu bùrú jǐ zhě, guò zé wù dàn gǎi.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid. Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wú yǒu bùrú jǐ zhě

  (Zhuyin): ㄨˊ ㄧㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄐㄧˇ ㄓㄜˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mou⁴ jau⁵ bat¹ jyu⁴ gei² ze²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wú yǒu bùrú jǐ zhě [Phonetic: wúyǒubùrújízhě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄨˊ ㄧㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄐㄧˇ ㄓㄜˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wú yǒu bùrú jǐ jhě
    • Wade–Giles: wu² yu³ pu⁴-ju² chi³ chê³
    • Yale: wú yǒu bù-rú jǐ jě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wu yeou buru jii jee
    • Palladius: у ю бужу цзи чжэ (u ju bužu czi čžɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /u³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mou⁴ jau⁵ bat¹ jyu⁴ gei² ze²
    • Yale: mòuh yáuh bāt yùh géi jé
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mou⁴ jau⁵ bat⁷ jy⁴ gei² dze²
    • Guangdong Romanization: mou⁴ yeo⁵ bed¹ yu⁴ géi² zé²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou̯²¹ jɐu̯¹³ pɐt̚⁵ jyː²¹ kei̯³⁵ t͡sɛː³⁵/

Proverb

無友不如己者

1. Make friends with people that are better than oneself

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (無友不如己者):

• → Korean: 무우불여기자(無友不如己者) (muuburyeogija)

Others:

• → Japanese: 己(おのれ)に如(し)かざる者(もの)を友(とも)とするなかれ (onore ni shikazaru mono o tomo to surunakare) (calque)